New Delhi: A month after Sushil Sharma was convicted and sentenced to death by a city court in the Naina Sahni tandoor murder case, the former Delhi Youth Congress leader today (Dec 8, 2003) challenged the trial court order in Delhi High Court.

Counsel Jayant Sud filed the appeal on behalf of Sharma, who was held guilty of murdering live-in partner Naina Sahni and burning her body in an oven of a restaurant in the heart of the capital eight years ago. Interestingly, at the time of sentencing, Sharma had ruled out going in for appeal.

Sud said the November 3 order of Additional Sessions Judge G P Thareja has been sought to be reversed on the ground that the trial court failed to appreciate the evidence on record which did not support the prosecution case.

"The Sessions Court failed to appreciate that there was no evidence to support the use of firearms in the murder. The case is based on circumstantial evidence but the link connecting the accused with the crime is missing at several points," Sud said.

The Investigating Officer deliberately did not go for Test Identification Parade which was mandatory, he said.

PTI