Zaheera Sheikh
Encyclopedia
Zaheera Sheikh aka Zahira Sheikh, is the key witness
in India's Best Bakery case
. She is the daughter of the owner of the bakery involved in the Best Bakery case.
On March 1, 2002, 12 Muslims and 2 others were burnt alive in the premises of the bakery, "allegedly by a Hindu mob".
She has indicated her desire to contest elections for the Gujarat elections if she was fielded by a political party.
In January 2005, the Supreme Court of India
ordered an inquiry into the repeated change of statement by Zaheera. In August 2005, a Supreme Court committee indicted Sheikh as a "self-condemned liar" falling to "inducements" by "certain persons" to give "inconsistent" statements during the trial of the case. The sis-in-law of Zaheera claimed that Zaheera was lying.
In March 2006, the Supreme Court of India
found her guilty of perjury
in the same case. She was sentenced to a year in prison and was also fined an amount equal to Rs. 50,000 (approximately $1,000). The court also instructed tax authorities to investigate her assets since the start of the infamous trial as she is widely suspected of having accepted numerous bribes to change her testimony in court. She was ordered to undergo her term in a Mumbai
prison.
The Indian newspaper, Tehelka, aired a secretly-filmed video in which the politician Madhu Srivastava is alleged to have paid 1.8 million rupees ($36,000) to Zaheera. Both have denied giving or receiving the bribe.
The Majlis-e-Shura, an apex decision making body of Muslims in India, declared Zaheera an outcast after it learned of the Tehelka reports, and Zaheera's false statements. Islamic scholars denounced "lying" as against "the principles of Islam and Koran".
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
in India's Best Bakery case
Best Bakery case
The Best Bakery case was a legal case involving the burning down of the Best Bakery in Vadodara, India, on March 1, 2002...
. She is the daughter of the owner of the bakery involved in the Best Bakery case.
On March 1, 2002, 12 Muslims and 2 others were burnt alive in the premises of the bakery, "allegedly by a Hindu mob".
She has indicated her desire to contest elections for the Gujarat elections if she was fielded by a political party.
In January 2005, the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
ordered an inquiry into the repeated change of statement by Zaheera. In August 2005, a Supreme Court committee indicted Sheikh as a "self-condemned liar" falling to "inducements" by "certain persons" to give "inconsistent" statements during the trial of the case. The sis-in-law of Zaheera claimed that Zaheera was lying.
In March 2006, the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
found her guilty of perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
in the same case. She was sentenced to a year in prison and was also fined an amount equal to Rs. 50,000 (approximately $1,000). The court also instructed tax authorities to investigate her assets since the start of the infamous trial as she is widely suspected of having accepted numerous bribes to change her testimony in court. She was ordered to undergo her term in a Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
prison.
The Indian newspaper, Tehelka, aired a secretly-filmed video in which the politician Madhu Srivastava is alleged to have paid 1.8 million rupees ($36,000) to Zaheera. Both have denied giving or receiving the bribe.
The Majlis-e-Shura, an apex decision making body of Muslims in India, declared Zaheera an outcast after it learned of the Tehelka reports, and Zaheera's false statements. Islamic scholars denounced "lying" as against "the principles of Islam and Koran".
External links
- "Why did Zaheera Sheikh have to lie?" - rediff.comRediff.comRediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
article dated July 8, 2003 - Zahira wants to contest elections The HinduThe HinduThe Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
- Jun 20, 2007