Mumbai: The Bombay High Court would tomorrow (May 3, 2004) hear the bail petitions of former police commissioner R S Sharma and Andhra Pradesh MLA C B Krishna Yadav, arrested under a stringent law in the fake stamp paper scam.

The accused had earlier sought adjournment till May 3 to enable them seek clarification from the Supreme Court.

The apex court had passed an order transferring all stamp racket cases from Special Investigating Team (SIT) to CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and ruled that no court shall hear matter relating to the scam.

The accused urged the High Court to grant time to find out from the Supreme Court whether high court had the jurisdiction to hear bail matters in the wake of the earlier order passed by the apex court.

Both the accused urged the High Court for bail on the ground that Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was not applicable to them.

The trial court in Pune rejected their bail plea. Being aggrieved, they moved the High Court.

The High Court had earlier rejected Sharma's petition challenging applicability of MCOCA on him and other accused.

Sharma, in his bail petition, pleaded that MCOCA was not attracted in his case. The SIT had not applied its mind while booking him in this case on the charge of allegedly shielding prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi, he argued.

He argued that the sanction accorded by DIG, SRPF, Subodh Jaiswal to prosecute him under MCOCA was improper as he was a member of SIT team probing the scam. The sanction should have been accorded by some independent person, Sharma said.

C B Krishna Yadav contended that the alleged telephonic tapes recorded by police was not relevant piece of evidence because the telephonic talks between him and others were held outside Maharashtra.

MCOCA was a State act and could not be invoked on him, he argued while urging for bail.

He also submitted that the alleged telephonic talk between him and prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi was recorded by SIT in 1998 and MCOCA came into existence in 1999. Therefore, MCOCA could not be invoked on him.

Yadav, former Sports Minister of Andhra Pradesh, is charged with helping the prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi in expanding his illegal business of circulating fake stamps in the State.

According to chargesheet filed by SIT, he allegedly kidnapped two associates of Telgi and demanded Rs two crore to release them. The duo was let off after Rs 32 lakh was paid by Telgi.