Wednesday, March 22 2006 12:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today(Mar 22,2006) issued bailable warrants against nine persons acquitted by the trial court in the Jessica Lall murder case.

A Division Bench of Justice Manmohan Sarin and Justice Manju Goel restrained the acquitted persons from leaving the country till further orders and asked them, including Manu Sharma, to appear before the court on April 18, the next date of hearing.

The bailable warrants were issued after Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam and state counsel Mukta Gupta sought non-bailable warrants against those acquitted in the case on the grounds that one of them had already left for the United States and others may follow.

The Bench had earlier admitted the appeal filed by the Delhi Police challenging February 21 acquittal order passed by the then Additional Sessions Judge against the nine persons. The appeal cited as many as 92 grounds on which the prosecution sought to assail the judgement delivered by the trial judge.