SC grants bail to Monica Bedi

New Delhi, May 17 (UNI) The Supreme Court today granted bail to Monica Bedi, wife of don Abu Salem, in fake passport case pending against her in Hyderabad.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran directed that she will be released on bail on furninshing bail bond and surety to the satisfaction of the trial court and she will not leave the country without prior permission of the court.

Despite today's order she may not be immediately released from the jail as she is serving a three-year sentence in a similar case, which was pending in Bhopal in which she was convicted and sentenced to five-years imprisonment by the trial court which was subsequently reduced to three years by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

In both the cases Bedi is facing allegations of travelling on a fake passport and visa. She has, however, denied the allegations.

Senior counsel K T S Tulsi appearing for her today, contended before the court that experts' report has confirmed that signatures on the passport in the Hyderabad case were not of Bedi and even the application for the passport was not in her handwriting.

Mr Tulsi also contended that she cannot be subjected to double jeopardy for the same offence as she had already served three years in Portugal, from where she was extradited to India in November 2005.

UNI