Patna, Feb 4:At last, the much-awaited final hearing completed Monday in the murder case of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Ajit Sarkar in a Patna court.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) parliamentarian Pappu Yadav and former legislator and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Rajan Tiwari are among the accused in the case. The court said the verdict would be announced Feb 14.

The hearing was held in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge B.M. Srivastav here, official sources in the court said.

"After the completion of hearing, the court has reserved its verdict and fixed Feb 14 to pronounce it," the sources said.

Special public prosecutor Rakesh Kumar Sinha presented for prosecution while renowned lawyer Majid Memon appeared in defence of the accused.

During the trial, the CBI, which investigated the case, produced altogether 61 witnesses while 27 witnesses were produced by the accused in their defence.

The final hearing started last month as directed by the Patna High Court.

While hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by a relative of Anil Yadav, an accused in the case, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Rajesh Balia and Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad issued the directive to lower court to complete the trial by the end of this month.

Sarkar, a legislator from Purnea, was shot dead by men allegedly acting on Pappu Yadav's orders June 14, 1998.

Pappu Yadav alias Rajesh Ranjan is currently imprisoned at Tihar jail in Delhi.

He was shifted to the high-security Tihar jail in February 2005 following a Supreme Court order to take him out of Patna after it was found that he was flouting jail regulations with impunity in the Beur jail where he was lodged. Tiwari is currently in Beur jail.

Pappu Yadav was arrested in March 2004 for his alleged involvement in the murder of Ajit Sarkar. His wife Ranjita Ranjan is an MP on the LJP ticket.

(IANS)