Telgi, co-accused refuse to appear in court

PUNE: Protesting against the extension of judicial custody, prime accused in the multi-crore fake stamp case Abdul Karim Telgi and over 50 other accused on Saturday refused to appear before the court via video-conferencing from the Yerawada Central Jail, jail sources said.
    
The accused refused to appear before the court, questioning the extension of their judicial custody during the last hearing by a judge who did not have the powers to conduct cases registered under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, sources said.

 

The 50-odd accused, who have sent an application to the Bombay High Court, warned that they would not attend the court unless their trial was conducted by a judge having MCOCA powers.

 

The fake stamp case was being heard by the special court having powers to conduct cases filed under the MCOCA. However, ever since the transfer of Special Judge BM Sardespande a few months back, the judicial custody of 61 of the 67 accused -- against whom the chargesheet was filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation last year -- had been extended by an additional sessions judge who presided over the court.

 

Of the 67 accused, four, including former Mumbai police Commissioner R S Sharma and ex-Mumbai crime branch DCP Pradeep Sawant, are on bail while one accused was absconding and another had died in Yerawada Jail in February.

 

In the day, Telgi's wife Shahida, also an accused in the case, "was not well" and hence was not produced before the court, sources said.

 

Additional Sessions Judge Chitra K Bhedi, before whom the matter was listed, extended the judicial custody of all the 61 accused till July 24.