Mah Assembly sends Bar Asso chief Manjit Sethi to 90 days' jail

Mumbai, Apr 12 (UNI) The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly today sentenced Bar Owners' Association president Manjit Singh Sethi to 90-day imprisonment for ''breach of special privileges of the Lower House.'' Mr Sethi was found guilty of breaching the privileges of the members of Legislative Assembly by threatening to oppose the decision of the State Government to ban dance bars last year.

The notice of breach of privilege by BJP member Sudhir Mungantiwar was admitted last year and sent to the Privileges Committee.

Mr Chandrakant Chhajed (Congress), who heads the committee, recommended 90 days' jail term for Sethi. He said Sethi, while opposing the announcement of banning dance bars by Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil made in the Legislative Assembly on March 30 last year, had threatened that bar girls would take to the streets and not allow wives of the ministers to move about freely.

Mr Chhajed said Sethi had breached the special privileges of the members and ''insulted'' the Lower House.

''We have arrived at the decision recommending jail sentence of 90 days after meeting eyewitnesses and going through evidence.

I urge the House to unanimously accept the recommendation,'' he added.

Later, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh moved the resolution that the Lower House accepted the recommendation of the committee and that Sethi will be sent to jail.

He would remain in prison while the Legislature is in session.

and set free after the Legislature is prorogued. Sethi would be arrested again when the next session begins, to complete his sentence of 90 days.

The resolution was adopted by a voice vote.

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