Ruling reserved on Monica's plea

Bhopal, Nov 1 (UNI) A local court today reserved until November 6 its ruling on a revision plea filed with regard to charges levelled against underworld don Abu Salem's girlfriend and former Bollywood starlet Monica Bedi who stands accused in a fake passports case.

Salem and his wife Samira Jumani are also among the accused.

Defence Counsel P C Bedi submitted before Additional District and Sessions Judge Anurag Shrivastav that Monica could not be charged under sections 419, 120(b) and 417 of the Indian Penal Code.

''My client cannot be charged under Section 419 as she was extradited from Portugal,'' Mr Bedi claimed.

In response, Public Prosecutor P N Singh Rajput said, ''after it was confirmed that a wrong ration card was issued, the person can be prosecuted under Section 419 and others.'' The arguments lasted about two hours.

On October 30, the petition was submitted in the court of District and Sessions Judge Renu Sharma who transferred the case to Mr Shrivastav.

Recording of witnesses' statements will continue tomorrow in Chief Judicial Magistrate Dinesh Kumar Dangi's court.

On October 27, the court could not record the statements of three scheduled witnesses. Havildar R P Pande, Constable Sanjay Joshi and Head Clerk Bansilal were listed but Mr Dangi was informed that Havildar Pande had died in a road mishap while another was ill.

Monica was then present in court amid tight security.

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