Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed an application by prime accused Manu Sharma seeking transfer of Jessica Lal murder case to another court saying that the hearing cannot be allowed to be derailed since a lot of argument had taken place.
In his application, Sharma's counsel Ram Jethmalani sought that the Bench of Justice R S Sodhi and Justice P K Bhasin, which is hearing the present appeal, to recuse from hearing the matter as one newspaper had carried a report saying that Justice Sodhi refused to hear Manu's bail plea in 2002 as he (Justice Sodhi) had been approached by someone.
The Bench also observed that up to the high court level, "We adopt an open court hearing of every case and they are open to public debate, discussion and criticism. Insulating ourselves will result in a great injustice to the parties involved in the matter."
The Bench will hear on Wednesday an appeal filed by Delhi police challenging Sharma's acquittal by a trial court, after Jethmalani said he will consider his position and inform the court.
After the order, Jethmalani said he had not yet decided whether to challenge it in Supreme Court and whether to appear at all on behalf of Manu or not.
