SC upholds Monica's conviction

A bench headed by Justice B Sudershan Reddy brought down Bedi’s sentence from three years to two-and-a-half years she had completed during the trial.

In 2005, the Portugal police held Bedi for travelling with a passport in the assumed name of Sana Malik Kamal issued by a passport office in Hyderabad. The Andra Pradesh High Court reduced Bedi’s sentence to three years from five years imposed by a Hyderabad lower court on September 29, 2006.

The actress need not spend any more time in jail as all the cases against her have been brought to a close.  Bedi was facing two forgery cases at Hyderabad and Bhopal for procuring two passports by producing forged documents in assumed names.

She spent about a year and nine months in Hyderabad and nine months in Bhopal during the trial. Police failed to produce adequate witnesses against her in Bhopal following which she was absolved in the case. Bedi was extradited from Portugal along with Mumbai underworld don Abu Salem in 2005 to face trial in the passport forgery cases. She was granted bail by the Supreme Court two years later, pending trial.