Zaheera's mom disowns retrial statements

MUMBAI: Sehrunissa Shaikh, mother of Zaheera Shaikh, prime witness in Best Bakery case, on Monday disowned statements made by her during the retrial -- those which the court here thinks are false, and for which she is being tried for giving false evidence.
    
The trial for giving false evidence conducted by special sessions Judge Abhay Thipsay, who held the Best Bakery retrial, got underway with the examination of Seherunnisa, by the judge.
    
Other accused in this trial are Zaheera, her brother Nasibullah and sister Sahira.

 

The judge read out all statements of Seherunnisa, which are believed by the court to be false and told her to state her explanations.
    
Seherunnisa's explanation, in respect of all these statements, was that they were not made by her.

 

"Do you want to say that your statements were wrongly recorded," the judge asked every time and her reply was consistently in the affirmative.

 

Thipsay indicated, at the end of the proceedings, that he would decide on her case on Tuesday.

 

Prior to Seherunnisa's examination, defence lawyer Umesh Deshpande challenged the court's jurisdiction to try Zaheera and her family members stating that the accused did not have confidence in the judge and they were not able to "express themselves" properly before him.

 

But Thipsay rejected this argument, terming it as "ridiculous". The criminal procedure code gives any court the power to try the witnesses for giving false evidence, the judge held.