Sethi to be released in breach of privilege case

Mumbai, Apr 21 (UNI) Even as bar dancers rejoiced on April 12 when Bombay High Court lifted the ban on dance bars across Maharashtra, the court today deferred till April 25 the plea of their protagonist Manjit Singh Sethi, who has challenged his 90-day sentence by the state Vidhan Sabha.

While Sethi, president of Mumbai Dance Bar Association who was sentenced and arrested on April 12 for breach of special privileges of the Assembly, will be released today after the House session ends, the HC has directed the State to submit the date of beginning of next Legislature session.

Following his arrest, Sethi had challanged his conviction in the High Court which deferred its hearing to April 25.

A division bench comprising Justices D G Deshpande and V K Tahilramani held that the case was a ''very delicate and complicated one'' and could not be disposed-off in a hurry. Once the date of the next House session was known, a date for the hearing, two weeks prior to the next session would be set to allow both the parties enough time to put forth their arguments, the court said.

While Sethi will be released today, the next hearing would decide whether he would have to go to jail again and again to complete his 90-day sentence during periods the Assembly is in session.

Also, the court had requested Assembly Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar to appear at the hearing today, but the Lower House passed a resolution yesterday that the Speaker should not appear before the HC.

Earlier, Sethi's counsel Satish Talekar had submitted that the members of the Assembly could not hold breach of privilege against his client, as he had not violated any rule of the House.

He had also contended that the statement attributed to him and published in a Marathi daily and which invited sentence by the House was ''false'' as the statement was not his, but a repetition of what the bar dancers had said at a meeting where Sethi was an invitee.

Talekar also contended that Sethi had not made any statement before the House and, therefore, it could not be taken as breach of privilege and hence, the state should withdraw the charge against him.

In fact, he alleged it was Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil who had misled the House as he had announced the decision to close down dance bars, even before discussing the policy matter before the State Cabinet.

The House had sentenced Sethi on the charge he had threatened to challange the ban and unleash bar girls on the city streets to mob wives of ministers if the government banned dancing in bars.

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