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Chargesheet in Jessica murder case to be filed soon

The investigation into the sensational killing of model Jessica Lal in a south Delhi restaurant is nearing completion and the chargesheet would be filed very soon, the Delhi High Court was told today.

Counsel for Delhi Police S S Gandhi submitted before a division bench comprising Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice R S Sodhi that the police have almost completed the investigation and the chargesheet will be filed before the end of the stipulated period of 90 days, ending on August 4.

Counsel for petitioner, Bhrashtachar Virodhi Morcha, Mohammed Sajid wanted that the court should direct the police to reply to various queries raised in the petition like whether the restaurant had a valid licence, whether it had the no objection certificate from Delhi Development Authority, what was the nature of the restaurant and the people who were present in the restaurant at the time of incident.

Agreeing that the questions did carry substantial importance, the judges, however, said let the investigation be completed and chargesheet be filed before the police are asked to reply to any other queries.

Gandhi said the police had no problem in replying to various queries raised by the petitioner, but ''our priority at present is filing the chargesheet.''

He submitted that several people, including those who were inside the restaurant at the time of the incident, have been examined and among them is a relative of a person who held the highest post of the country. He did not name either.

To the allegation of the petitioner that the police was not investigating the matter properly, the judges said ''unless there are some documents which can demonstrate beyond doubt that the police was not investigating the matter properly, how can we presume that they are not doing their job properly.''

UNI

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