Bhopal district and sessions judge Renu Sharma, on Thursday, upheld the decision of a lower court acquitting Monica Bedi in a forged passport case.
Meanwhile, a probe into the charge that a secret camera was installed in the bathing area of her cell in the Central jail here has been set into motion.
A local court, on July 16, had acquitted Mafia don Abu Salem’s close associate and former Bollywood starlet Monica Bedi of the charges of procuring and using a forged passport.
Appeal
The prosecuting agency of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had proffered an appeal against the acquittal in the court of the district and sessions judge.
Bedi attended the hearing of the appeal on Tuesday while the lawyers for the prosecution and the defense laid their arguments before the court on Wednesday and Thursday.
The court upheld the acquittal order on the ground of lack of evidence. The prosecution could not even produce the passport alleged to have been forged, the court said.
Inspections
Meanwhile, on the directions of the Supreme Court, a probe committee inspected the cell in the central jail here where Bedi was incarcerated for almost ten months during her trial. The probe was ordered by the Supreme Court on a petition moved by Bedi.
In her petition, Bedi had prayed to the court that TV channels be restrained from airing her pictures allegedly taken while she was bathing.
Indecent pictures
The petition was filed after a channel showed her pictures almost in the nude.
The Apex court ordered TV channels not to telecast her indecent pictures. and also ordered a probe into the charge that secret cameras were installed in her cell.
The charge had first surfaced when Bedi was still in the jail.
The jail superintendent, while accepting that the cameras were indeed installed had denied that there were any in the bathing area.
He had cited security reasons for the arrangement.
After the news became public, the state jail minister had ordered removal of all cameras.
However, after that, MMSes with Bedi’s indecent pictures started circulating on the Cellular phone networks.
Later at least one of them was beamed by a TV channel.
The probe committee has to submit its report within fifteen days.
