Venod said there was no pressure on him from the government or the party high command to resign from his post.
Sharma, son of former Union minister Venod Sharma, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi high court in December 2006 for killing Jessica Lal in 1999.
Haryana Power Minister Venod Sharma, in the eye of a storm following recent revelations in the Jessica Lal murder case in which his son Manu Sharma is the main accused, has resigned.
In his initial statement, Rajput had told police that he saw a man in white T-shirt firing at Jessica, but later turned hostile in court, turing the case on its head.
"The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt the presence of Manu Sharma at the site of the offence," a bench of Justices P Sathasivam and Swatanter Kumar said, upholding the Delhi High Court verdict. The apex court also upheld the conviction as well as sentence of four years jail term of Vikas Yadav, son of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav and, Amarjeet Singh Gill, an MNC executive, for the destruction of evidence.
The normal stream of visitors at the official residence was not found on Monday.
The BJP has fielded as many as 10 turncoats, including those who joined the party from the JJP in recent weeks.
Independent MLA Balraj Kundu, who has been vocal against the BJP-led government on several issues, remained firm in his decision to abstain from voting.
Siddharth Vashisht alias Manu Sharma, undergoing life term for killing model Jessica Lall in 1999, was on Thursday granted parole for 30 more days by the Delhi High Court so that he can prepare a diploma thesis for his post-graduation course.
Siddharth Vashisht alias Manu Sharma, who is undergoing life term for killing model Jessica Lall in 1999, was on Wednesday granted nine days parole by the Delhi high court to appear in post graduate exams.
Ramp model Jessica Lall's killer Manu Sharma, given parole to attend his brother's marriage from November 21 to 25, has been specifically warned by the Delhi high court against committing any offence during his period of freedom.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea of Manu Sharma, son of senior Congress leader Venod Sharma, seeking review of the judgement sentencing him to life imprisonment for killing model Jessica Lall 11 years ago.
Chronology of events in the Jessica Lal murder case
The bench also issued notice on a bail plea of co-accused Amarjeet Singh Gill alias Tony Gill, who was sentenced to 4 years' rigorous imprisonment for destruction of evidence.
The BJP on Wednesday also named its in-charges for assembly bypolls to four seats in Tripura.
It also dismissed an application of the Delhi Police seeking permission to submit additional evidence in the case.
Seeking to consolidate its position in Rajya Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party is banking on independents for four additional seats and is seeking to capitalise on the infighting within the Congress in as many states in the June 10 biennial election.
Manu Sharma, undergoing life term for killing model Jessica Lall in 1999, was granted limited parole by Delhi HC to enable him to appear for his LLB first semester exams.
Wary of the possibility of cross-voting during the polling for two Rajya Sabha seats, the Congress is likely to take its Haryana MLAs to the party-ruled Chhattisgarh to protect them from poaching.
Manu Sharma, the convict in the murder case of Jessica, and Mattoo's killer Santosh Singh were among 204 who had approached the board, headed by state Home Minister Satyendar Jain, the sources said.
Several prominent opposition leaders including Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah will share the dais at a rally being organised by Indian National Lok Dal in Haryana's Fatehabad on Sunday.
In her reply to the letter sent by the jail authorities, Lall pointed out that Sharma had been helping inmates during the 15 years he had spent in prison.
A look at licensed distilleries shows that many have connections with politicians and influential business families. Among politicians, a minister owns a distillery. Two others are owned by ex-Congressman Venod Sharma and ex-Akali MLA Deep Malhotra.
The fate of 1,351 candidates will be sealed by 1.63 crore voters in high-stakes multi-cornered contest in Haryana which goes to polls on Wednesday with top guns including the kin of the three famous 'Lals' battling it out in the state.
After a series of desertions in the election year, the ruling Congress in Haryana may face another jolt as its senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh, who has openly revolted against the chief minister, appears set to dump the party and join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
It observed that an expert, in such a situation, could not have given a different opinion and said, "It was unjust to attribute any motive to Manocha that he changed his original stand in the written opinion."
A highly-placed source in the BJP told Rediff.com, "Just as the Sangh dislikes the pseudo-secularism of the Congress, the Sangh also has a distaste for the pseudo Hindutva that the BJP is trying to practise in maddening race for power."
Maharashtra registered over 64 per cent voter turnout while a record 76 pc polling in Haryana, which witnessed stray incidents of violence, in the first eight hours of polling on Wednesday in the riveting contest to elect assemblies in the two states.
Cracking the whip, Congress on Thursday night suspended rebel party MP from Haryana Chaudhary Birender Singh and former CWC member Jagmeet Brar for "gross indiscipline" and "deliberately lowering the prestige of the party".
With several Congress leaders pushing for Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's removal, the Congress is finding it difficult to keep its flock together in the poll-bound state. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports.
Rediff.com looks at other sensational murder mysteries that left India shell-shocked.
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