Saturday, April 9 2005 14:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Best Bakery case key witness Zaheera Sheikh and social activist Teesta Setalwad, who have been trading allegations, have been asked to appear on April 18 before a high-powered committee set up by the Supreme Court to examine the veracity of their claims.

Headed by Registrar General of the Apex Court B M Gupta, who co-opted Delhi Police Joint Commissioner Kanwaljit Deol as its member, the committee has directed both the women to appear before it, sources said.

The committee, which began its probe on April 6, has been entrusted to find out in four months who was telling the truth - Zaheera or Teesta.

Faced with doubts created by Zaheera not only about her own statements but also Setalwad's credentials, the court had on January 10 ordered a high-level probe into the issue.

Conceding that the situation was "delicate", a Bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice H K Sema had directed the Registrar General of the Apex Court to take the help of an inspector general rank official from Delhi Police and conduct a probe about the basis of the statements of Zaheera and the affidavits filed by Teesta in the Apex Court.

The Registrar General, after receiving the order, held consultations with Police Commissioner K K Paul and chose Deol for the task.

While Zaheera has retracted from her statement time and again, alleging during her last turnaround that she was held captive by Setalwad who made money by "selling the Bakery case abroad", the activist-lawyer alleged that the local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Vadodara lured her with huge amounts of money to change her statement.