Sheetal sent to JC. Arrest after tip-off, claims lawyer

Mumbai, Jun 8 (PTI) Businesswoman Sheetal Mafatlal was
Monday remanded in judicial custody till June 12 after she was
arrested for allegedly trying to evade duty by not declaring
Rs 51 lakh worth jewellery in what is being claimed as a
result of a tip-off by her "disgruntled opponent".

Sheetal, a prominent socialite and the president of
Mafatlal luxury who was arrested at the airport Sunday on
her return from London, might have to spend one more day in
jail as a local court deferred her bail plea until Tuesday.

Normally, an accused is entitled to bail in judicial
custody unless it is opposed by prosecution. However, it is
ultimately the court's discretion to grant bail to an accused,
legal sources said.

Attired in a peach salwar suit and wearing sunglasses,
Sheetal, who her husband and lawyer said is a Non-Resident
Indian, was in the court sitting near the dock. At one stage,
she was gestured by a court staff to remove her glasses and
she promptly did so.

Sheetal's husband, Atulya, the scion of Mafatlal
Industries, was standing during the entire court proceedings
which lasted for two hours.

Sheetal's arrest followed a tip-off to police and other
authorities by some "disgruntled" opponents of the Mafatlal
family and industry, Defence lawyer Satish Maneshinde claimed
outside a local court where she was to be produced.

Prosecutor Arun Gupte contended that Sheetal was guilty
of offences under Customs Act which were non-bailable. He
alleged that she had smuggled goods including jewellery worth
Rs 53.67 lakh. She had not declared goods and walked through
the green channel, he said.

Gupte argued that Sheetal was influential and came from
a well-to-do family and she was likely to tamper with evidence
if granted bail.

Maneshinde said the offences alleged by the prosecution
were bailable. If granted bail, Sheetal would not abscond as
the accused had roots in society, he argued.

He further assured that Sheetal would pay to the Customs
department the deposit which the court might order as a
condition of bail.

The lawyer said jewellery and other goods brought by
Sheetal were her personal belongings and given to her by her
relatives or her in-laws.

Sheetal possessed even more jewellery in India than what
she was carrying on the foreign trip, Maneshinde said.

Maneshinde told reporters that Sheetal had 51 items in
her possession including bangles, chains and rings and the
most valuable jewellery was worth Rs 2.5 lakh.

"The jewellery was given to her by her father-in-law and
were used articles. According to a Supreme Court ruling, if
the value of the gold is less than Rs one crore and the duty
is less than Rs 30 lakh then the offence is bailable," he
said.

Atulya Mafatlal said her wife is a NRI and lives in
London and that she was on a short visit to India. PTI AG
AM
NNNN

The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this
message are intended for the exclusive
use of the addressee(s) and may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged
information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please
notify the sender immediately and destroy
all copies of this message and any attachments contained in it.