Relatives can visit Bharat Shah

In a humanitarian gesture, the Bombay High Court directed the police to allow close relatives to visit incarcerated film financier Bharat Shah. He has been admitted for treatment at a private hospital in Bombay.

The order was delivered by Justice A B Palkar following Shah's application to the police. Shah can now meet his wife, two sons and daughter.

Justice Palkar held that this meeting would not cause any prejudice to the prosecution.

Arguments on his bail plea were advanced by his lawyers but could not be concluded. His petition will be heard again on Thursday, July 19.

Shah's lawyers harped on the alleged conversations between Pakistan-based gangster Chhota Shakeel and others to show that various other film personalities had developed links with the underworld.

They said Shah had been singled out and should be released on bail.

Shah was arrested on January 8 on the basis of telephone talks between him and Shakeel which allegedly reveal that the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke was financed by the underworld.

Shah has claimed that he had financed the film and obtained world distribution rights He challenged the trial court directive -- which asked him to pay Rs 450 million, received from his distributors, to the court receiver.

PTI

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The Bharat Shah case