Judge Abhay Thipsay, who had tried the Best Bakery case, ordered her custody after she filed an application saying she was surrendering before the Mumbai court following the Supreme Court directive.

Zaheera pleaded that she may be kept in the custody of the court and did not want to go to any prison in Gujarat as she feared threat to her life. The court asked the Mumbai Police to take Zaheera into custody and produce her on March 13 to decide her application and go through the Supreme Court order sentencing her to jail.

The Vadodara police said a notice had been served Thursday to Saheera Kalimuddin in Mumbai. She is the sister of Zaheera. Vadodara Police Commissioner Deepak Swaroop said a special team had reached Mumbai and served a notice to Saheera.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court had severely reprimanded Zaheera, who had turned hostile during the Best Bakery trial, for her 'flip flops' and sentenced her to one-year simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs 50,000 for contempt of court.

Accepting the report of the high-powered inquiry committee, which had indicted her as a 'self-condemned liar', a bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice H K Sema said in case of default of payment of fine, Zaheera will undergo further imprisonment of one year.

Justice Pasayat, who read the judgement, said, "This is a classic example of a case where evidence were tampered with and witnesses won over."

Zaheera Sheikh with her mother.
Photograph: Deepak Salvi

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