Tuesday, April 19 2005 20:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Best Bakery case key witness Zahira Shaikh today (Apr 19, 2005) forced an adjournment in the proceedings before the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee by accusing it of adopting a biased approach towards her in its task to examine the veracity of her contradictory statements.

Her lawyer D K Garg moved an application before the Committee headed by Registrar General of Supreme Court, B M Gupta, alleging that it was exceeding the orders of the apex Court by "cross-examining" her, official sources said.

Senior advocate P N Lekhi, appearing for her before the Committee, also stated that "the Committee was acting in total defiance of the apex Court orders" and was adopting different stands against his client vis-a-vis the social activist, Teesta Setalvad.

The Committee, also comprising Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police Kanwaljeet Deol, refuted the allegations but sought the view of Setalvad's counsel Aparna Bhat and NHRC 's counsel S Muralidhar on the application moved by Zahira.

Though both opposed the application and termed the move as "delaying tactics" on the part of Zahira, the Committee adjourned its proceedings till Thursday allowing Zahira to mention the application before the Court tomorrow to seek a clarification on its order entrusting the probe to the Committee, the sources said.

Faced with doubts created by Zahira not only about her own statements but also about the credential of Setalvad, the Supreme Court on January 10 had ordered a high-level probe to find out who is telling the truth - Zahira or Setalvad.