Apex court lets Monica Bedi travel out of village

New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday gave Monica Bedi, underworld don Abu Salem's former partner, permission to travel to any part of the country for a job, ending her virtual confinement in her ancestral village in Punjab.

A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice R.V. Raveendran lifted the restriction on Bedi's free movement, saying that she was free to visit anywhere after informing the local police.

Facing trial at a Hyderabad court for allegedly possessing a fake passport and travel documents, Bedi had been granted bail by the apex court, which had also asked her to remain in her native village Chabewal in Punjab till the case against her was disposed of.

She would also have to keep the Hyderabad police informed about her whereabouts, the court clarified.

Bedi, a former Bollywood actor who spent nearly five years in Portugal and various Indian jails owing to her friendship with mobster Abu Salem, has been in Chabewal since her bail in July this year.

She had approached the court last week seeking permission to travel, saying that she was getting offers to work in various films but was unable to take up the assignments because its order had virtually confined her to her village.

Bedi sought modification of the order, contending that the order was impinging upon her fundamental right to earn her livelihood anywhere in the country, besides depriving her of the right to move freely in the country.