Bharat Shah peeved, sends notice to 2 newspapers

Film financier Bharat Shah, who was convicted by special court last year under IPC for withholding information regarding underworld, has sent notice to two English dailies for trying to harm his "reputation and goodwill" by publishing his pictures alongwith captions that allegedly ridiculed him and were defamatory in nature.

Shah, exonerated under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) but convicted under IPC and sentenced for one year, has appealed against his conviction and the matter is pending before Bombay High Court.

The two dailies including an eveninger had published his pictures taken during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the city on Wednesday.

The captions that accompanied the pictures said things like "Look who came to visit the PM," "Patience rewarded-I've done it," Let's shake on it" and "Practising a virtue-waiting for PM."

The accompanying news items said that Shah had been "convicted for his links with underworld" and "who invited him to an event where the PM mingled with city's top businessmen at a five star hotel."

Shah, in notices to two newspapers, through his lawyer Vibhav Krishna, said that the news items seem to have purposefully slanted against him in order to defame him.

Shah has given two weeks time to the newspapers to come with a corrigendum and threatened to file criminal complaints of defamation and monetary damages in case they don't publish the apology.