By IANS
New Delhi : A city court Wednesday postponed for two days the judgement in the 1999 murder of a fashion designer allegedly at the behest of her boyfriend Romesh Sharma, an alleged associate of mobster Dawood Ibrahim.
Sharma and six others are accused of killing Kunjum Budhiraja, a 29-year-old Delhi-based designer.
Additional Sessions Judge S.P. Garg postponed the judgement to Feb 15 after the prosecution submitted that the main accused, Sharma, could not be present in the court and his presence was necessary to deliver the judgement.
“Sharma is presently appearing in the Tis Hazari court in another matter. So, he cannot be brought here,” said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) counsel while requesting the court to give other date for pronouncing the judgement.
Sharma and others have been booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to murder, intimidation, abetment and criminal conspiracy.
Budhiraja was allegedly shot dead Mar 20, 1999, by a group of gangsters from Uttar Pradesh at Sharma’s behest when she went to offer prayers at a temple in his south Delhi farmhouse.
According to the prosecution, Sharma, then lodged in Tihar Jail, came out on parole to attend Budhiraja’s funeral and carried out wedding rituals at the cremation ground.
While framing charges against the accused, the court said the facts and circumstances of the case were sufficient to show prima facie that Sharma was an active participant in the conspiracy leading to the murder.
Sharma’s nephew Surinder met him March 19 and gave the keys of the farmhouse to Budhiraja the next day.
The court said: “The accused arranged the arrival of Budhiraja at the farmhouse where the killers were already awaiting for her.”
Three people, including a nephew of Sharma and two sisters Sonu and Dolly, were close to him, have also been arrested for the murder. Sharma has been in judicial custody since 1999 and is facing trial in as many 16 criminal cases.