New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today admitted the appeal of Romesh Sharma, alleged frontman of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, challenging his conviction in the Kunjum Buddhiraja murder case.
A Bench headed by Justice H R Malhotra issued notice to the Delhi Police on Sharma's plea for bail in the case, directing it to file its reply by July 23.
Sharma had on April 24 moved the Delhi High Court challenging the life term awarded to him by a city court 0for killing his fashion designer girlfriend Kunjum.
On February 18, a Delhi court had awarded life imprisonment to Sharma and five others for murdering Kunjum on March 20,1999.
The court had acquitted another accused, Jaspreet Virdi alias Sonu, for want of evidence.
The Court had also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Sharma and Rs 5,000 each on his nephew Surinder Mishra and a woman convict Tejinder Virdi alias Dolly. Other convicts -- Hemchand, Santram and Ramesh -- were fined Rs 1,000 each.
The court had on February 15 held all of them guilty under Section 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.
According to the prosecution, Sharma had hatched the conspiracy to kill 29-year-old Kunjum while he was in judicial custody in connection with several cases, including that of intimidation, property-grabbing and cheating.
Kunjum was stabbed to death by a group of hired gangsters from Uttar Pradesh at the instance of Surinder Mishra, a co-accused and nephew of Sharma at a South Delhi farmhouse.
Mishra had also met Sharma in the jail a day before the incident, the prosecution claimed.
