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| WORN OUT: Fifteen months of judicial custody
have taken a toll on Shah. Now he is suffering from cardiac and neurological
problems. |
It was a
scene straight out of one of his own multi-crore rupee, multi-coloured
Bollywood tearjerkers. When Bollywood financier-producer and diamond merchant
Bharat Shantilal Shah was told by his wife Beena that his ninth bail plea
had been accepted by the Supreme Court, he broke down. "Thank God,"
he wept, "the judges saw the truth. There is still a chance to get
justice in India." Crying about truth and justice while sitting in
his first-class room on the 13th floor of Bombay Hospital may appear melodramatic.
But they seemed genuine given the fact that the past 15 months, following
his arrest for allegedly aiding an underworld don, have taken a heavy
toll on Shah. When he was arrested, "Bharatbhai" was one of
Bollywood's most powerful men-a portly 57-year-old, who dressed in flashy
shirts and wore diamond-studded Piaget watches. Today, he is gaunt, sunken-cheeked,
10 kg lighter and suffering from cardiac and neurological problems that
have taken him out of Thane Jail but kept him in hospital for six months.
Shah was charged on January 8, 2001 under the Maharashtra Control of
Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for abetting underworld don Chhota Shakeel's
activities. The "activities" mostly centred on extortion and
film finance rackets, with Shah accused of being the respectable frontman
for Shakeel. The arrests were made on the basis of transcripts of taped
conversations allegedly between Shakeel and Shah. The charges were non-bailable
and under MCOCA Shah could be kept in custody for close to 18 months.
The Bombay High Court is yet to decide on 55 bail applications in cases
under MCOCA and the court had rejected Shah's earlier applications too.
But the apex court upheld Shah's plea that he was "a victim".
The division bench comprising Justice M.B. Shah and Justice B.P. Singh
said the prosecution had failed to substantiate its allegations. Bharat
Shah was released on a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh, two sureties of equal amount
and was directed to surrender his cell phone and passport.
It was a rare turnaround. Early on, a Delhi-based member of his high-powered
team of nine lawyers (including Kapil Sibal and Ram Jethmalani) had told
a friend that Shah was "yet another rich crook trying to save himself".
But after scanning his files, the lawyer was convinced he could get Shah
off. It has cost the Shahs some Rs 10 crore to get the bail appeal upheld.
But all this is a mere intermission in the Shah case. The apex court
has directed Shah to attend every hearing in the trial court-which will
decide if MCOCA is applicable to Shah-unless exempted by it. The directive
has actually cheered the Mumbai Crime Branch. Says ACP Shankar Kamble:
"Shah can no longer give excuses to keep away from court when the
trial starts next week. He has been doing this on medical grounds."
It is going to be a while before Shah can even begin to think about
his Bollywood interests. His film business came to a halt after his arrest.
Says filmmaker Amit Khanna: "He may become a vital player again but
in the past two years, things have changed. Many of the major houses have
gone public and there is more corporate money in the business."
There is already a potential source of light at the end of Shah's personal
tunnel. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas, a Shah home production and the
most expensive Hindi film (about Rs 45 crore) ever made, is due for release
in May. A hit may put him back into business. After all, cases like those
of actor Sanjay Dutt and tips owner and producer Ramesh Taurani prove
Bollywood holds no grouse against jailbirds.
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CURRENT
ISSUE APRIL 15, 2002
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