Mumbai: In a last ditch effort to save himself from the clutches of law, film financier Bharat Shah has moved the Supreme Court seeking discharge from criminal charges of alleged underworld nexus faced by him in a special court.

Shah's petition would be heard by justice M B Shah and justice Arun Kumar in apex court on April 28, even as the trial has reached its fag end in a special court in Mumbai, with prosecution examining as many as 71 witnesses to prove its case of alleged nexus of Bollywood with underworld.

Shah has pleaded that there was no material to frame charges against him and that the trial court had erred in framing charges, according to his lawyer Vibhav Krishna.

The Supreme Court had earlier directed Shah to exhaust all legal remedies in Mumbai High Court and the trial court before approaching it. Accordingly, Shah had moved the trial court and High Court, but did not get relief. Hence he moved the apex court once again for discharge.

The High Court, on March 5, rejected his petition challenging the Constitutional validity of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) under which he had been booked.

On January 29, the High Court had dismissed an appeal filed by Shah against a lower court order, which had refused to modify, alter and delete charges framed against him. Shah argued there was insufficient material to frame charges against him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and MCOCA.

PTI