Sushil Sharma on Monday challenged in the Delhi high court a city court's decision to convict and sentence him to death in the Naina Sahni murder case.

Counsel Jayant Sud filed the appeal on behalf of Sharma, who was held guilty of murdering live-in partner Naina Sahni and burning her body in an oven of a restaurant eight years ago.

At the time of sentencing Sharma had ruled out going in for appeal.

Sud said the November 3 order of Additional Sessions Judge G P Thareja should be reversed on the ground that the trial court failed to appreciate the evidence on record, which did not support the prosecution case.

"The sessions court failed to appreciate that there was no evidence to support the use of firearms in the murder. The case is based on circumstantial evidence but the link connecting the accused with the crime is missing at several points," he said.

The investigating officer deliberately did not go for test identification parade, which was mandatory, he said.