Maha yet to decide whether to appeal Sharma's acquittal

Maharashtra government today informed the Bombay High Court that it would take another three weeks to decide whether an appeal should be filed against the acquittal of former 'encounter specialist' Pradeep Sharma in the Ramnarayan Gupta encounter case.
Additional public prosecutor Hitendra Dedhia told the division bench of justices P V Hardas and P N Deshmukh that the Law and Judiciary department was studying the case documents. "Decision would be taken within three weeks on whether or not an appeal would be filed," he said.
The bench was hearing an appeal filed by Ramnarayan's brother, advocate Ramprasad Gupta, challenging Sharma's acquittal. At the hearing two weeks ago HC had asked the government if an appeal would be filed.

Meanwhile, nine out of the 21 convicts have filed their appeals. One of them is a policeman: constable Vinayak Shinde.
The sessions court last month convicted 21 people including 13 policemen and sentenced them to life imprisonment on the charges of murder and conspiracy in Gupta encounter case. Sharma was, however, acquitted for lack of evidence.
On November 11, 2006, a police team picked up Ramprasad Gupta, an alleged aide of gangster Chhota Rajan, from neighbouring Vashi. He was killed in a fake encounter later in the day.
According to the prosecution, he was killed at the behest of a builder, a business rival, who had approached Sharma for this purpose.