Soumya Vishwanathan murder accused seek stay of trial in murder case of IT executive

Three accused, facing trial in the murder case of TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan, today approached a Delhi court seeking a stay on the proceedings in another case relating to the killing of IT executive Jigisha Ghosh last year.

In an application, filed before additional sessions judge R Kirannath, the accused said, "The trial in the murder case of Jigisha may be put in abeyance till the conclusion of proceedings in the Soumya case."

Amit Kumar, counsel for accused Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla and Baljeet Singh Malik said, "The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) was invoked only in the Soumya murder case and the law says that till the conclusion of the trial in matters, registered under the special statutes such as MCOCA, hearing in others matters would be stayed."

The case relating to the murder of Ghosh was not registered under MCOCA, the counsel said.

The court, which has fixed the application for hearing tomorrow, asked the public prosecutor to respond to the application.

The three accused had allegedly tailed the journalist of Headlines Today channel and shot at her on the night of September 30, 2008, when she was returning home by her car from office at around 3:30 am.

The Soumya murder case was solved during the probe into the killing of Ghosh who was done to death on March 18 last year.

Police, in their charge sheet, had said that the recovery of the weapon allegedly used in the murder of Ghosh led to cracking of Soumya's murder case.