A sessions court today sentenced Zaheera Sheikh to three months of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 500 on her for giving false evidence in the Best Bakery case. The RI will start after Zaheera, who is currently in jail for contempt of court, completes the one-year term awarded by the Supreme Court. Judge Abhay Thipsay also ordered that if the fine is not paid, she would have to undergo an additional 10 days of imprisonment.Before delivering the verdict on charges of perjury (giving false evidence), the judge asked Zaheera whether she had anything to say. Zaheera stepped into the witness box and said, ‘‘I do not wish to say anything.’’Outside the court, Zaheera’s lawyer Umesh Deshpande said he would file an appeal in the Bombay High Court soon. He said Zaheera had indicated to him about filing an appeal but the decision would be taken after he meets her in jail this weekend.Earlier, the court had sentenced her mother Sehrunissa and sister Sahira to three-month RI and imposed a fine of Rs 500 on each on similar charges. However, the court did not punish Zaheera’s brother Nasibullah though he was found guilty. The court said it would await the report of a probation officer, considering his young age. Zaheera and her family members had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Judge Abhay Thipsay, while delivering the judgement in the Best Bakery case on February 24, had issued notices to Zaheera and others asking them to show cause why action should not be taken against them for giving false evidence.Thipsay charged Zaheera with falsely stating in court that she had not lodged the FIR regarding the Best Bakery incident and that she was unaware of the document (FIR) although it had her signature.The judge also charged Zaheera with telling a lie during the re-trial that she had not told the Vadodara court earlier about talking to police regarding the Best Bakery incident. He referred to a Vadodara court proceedings indicating she had indeed told police about it.Thipsay further charged Zaheera with making a false statement before him during re-trial that she was not aware of the outcome of a verdict of the Vadodara court which had acquitted the accused in the Best Bakery case as she and other witnesses had turned hostile.Explaining the charges to Zaheera, he said she had given a false statement that she was not aware of what happened to the case after it was over in the Vadodara court and she had also feigned ignorance about the reason as to why the case was being tried again in Mumbai.The judge said Zaheera had initially said she had not named anyone as offender or culprit before any authority or the media but later said on oath that she had named certain persons as offenders on being tutored by some persons.
