The special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Hyderabad reserved orders till November 17 on the CBI's petition seeking five-day custody of underworld don Abu Salem's starlet wife Monica Bedi.
Bedi was extradited alongwith Abu Salem from Portugal and brought to India last week. She was flown to Hyderabad from Mumbai and produced before the Special CBI Court Judge C V Subramanyam on November 12. She is now lodged in the women's prison at Chanchalguda in the city, after being remanded to judicial custody till November 25.
The judge heard the arguments on the petition for CBI custody on Tuesday and posted the matter for orders to Thursday.
The CBI counsel argued that the chargesheet was filed by the CBI in her absence. Now, she was available to the investigating agency as she was in judicial remand. The CBI said that a petition was filed under Section 173 (2) of Criminal Procedure Code earlier, prior to her arrest.
The court had also ordered the CBI to further investigate the matter.
The CBI sought her custody for five days to interrogate her to ferret out more facts about the source of assistance for procuring the passport under a fictitious name by furnishing false address and details.
Opposing the CBI custody, the defence counsel argued that since the investigation was completed and the chargesheet had been filed, the prosecution was seeking the custody of Bedi without any valid reason.
The defence counsel, however, said that if the special court granted the CBI plea for custody, then certain conditions be imposed to ensure her security.
It may be recalled that Bedi is facing a criminal case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Passports Act for securing a passport through fraudulent means.