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- By Parinda News Bureau, March 21, 2006, 12:00 IST
Zaheera Sheikh, key witness in the Best bakery case has moved the SC on Monday asking for a reduction of the one year jail sentence awarded to her. The Supreme court has found Zaheera guilty of contempt of court for lying before it.
Zaheera has also sought waiver of the Rs 50,000 fine imposed on her by a Bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice H K Sema which found her guilty of contempt.
Zaheera's counsel D K Garg said she was a minor when she made the false statements before the Court and that her health had deteriorated as a result of the stress she had to undergo during the past few years.
The application is likely to be mentioned before the Bench on Tuesday.
On March 8, the Apex Court reprimanded Zaheera for her "flip-flops" during the Best Bakery trial, on the basis of the report of a high-powered inquiry committee which had indicted her as a "self-condemned liar".
The court had said "this is a classic example of a case where evidence were tampered with and witnesses won over". The court had also directed the Income Tax authorities to attach Zaheera's assets and bank accounts for three months, besides initiating' proceedings to ascertain her source of income since 2000. On January 10, 2005, the court referred the matter for inquiry on being faced with Zaheera's "flip-flops", much to the embarrassment of social activist Teesta Setalvad.
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