Shivani murder case: Delhi HC rejects bail plea of convict

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the bail plea of one of the four convicts in the sensational murder case of journalist Shivani Bhatnagar.

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the bail plea of one of the four convicts in the sensational murder case of journalist Shivani Bhatnagar.

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A bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ajit Bharihoke rejected the bail application of Pradeep Sharma, who is serving life term in the case, saying it was devoid of merit.

In the bail application, filed through advocate DB Goswami, the convict has sought two month's interim bail for getting his children admitted in a school here, saying his presence was necessary at the time of admission.

The court, which had sought a report from the police, said the bail cannot be granted on such grounds as the presence of one of the parents at the time of admission was sufficient.

Besides Sharma, senior IPS officer RK Sharma, hired killers Sri Bhagwan and Satya Prakash were awarded rigorous life imprisonment on March 24, 2008 by a lower court in the case.

The convict IPS officer had plotted the murder as he wanted to get rid of the victim with whom he had developed an intimate relation.

Shivani was found murdered in her east Delhi apartment on January 23, 1999.

The convicts have challenged their conviction in the Delhi High Court.

The lower court, however, had acquitted two other coaccused -- Ved Prakash Sharma and Ved alias Kalu -- for want of evidence.