NEW DELHI: Sarfaraz Jaffar Ahasan, embroiled in legal battle with estranged spouse and Bollywood actress Zeenat Aman, Wednesday got a breather from the Supreme Court which allowed him not to surrender to jail till its further orders due to non-payment Rs 60 lakh as installment of settlement amount to the actress by December 31.
The Bombay High Court, on December 21, had ordered Ahasan to either pay Rs 60 lakh, as part payment of an instalment of Rs 1.2 crore to the heroine, by the year-end or surrender himself back to jail next day that is on January 1.
Ahasan, a real estate businessman, who had married Aman in 2012, was arrested in 2018 by the Mumbai police on the FIR lodged by the actress alleging various offences including rape and cheating against him.
Almost after spending two years in jail, the High Court granted conditional bail to Ahasan and asked him to pay a total amount of Rs 12.26 crore to Aman within a period of 17 months and he was to pay Rs 60 lakh, half amount of one installment of Rs 1.2 crore, by December 31.
A vacation bench comprising julstices Indira Banerjee and Aniruddha Bose took note of the submissions of senior advocate Pinky Anand, appearing for Ahasan, that due to the slump in the real estate business on account of COVID-19 pandemic and other reasons, the money could not be paid.
"Let notice be issued to the respondents (Maharashtra government and Zeenat Aman) returnable on Wednesday, the 13th January, 2021. However, time to surrender by the petitioner is extended by two weeks or until further orders of this court," the bench said in its order.
The bench issued notice to the actress and the state government on the appeal of Ahasan against the high court's order.
Aman's estranged husband has filed the appeal through lawyer Sumit Teterrwal against the high court's order which put him to notice, to either fulfil financial condition or surrender back to jail on January 1.
"The petitioner has already been behind bars for about 2 years on false and fictitious complaint from 2018 to 2020. The accounts of the petitioner have been frozen since 2016.
On account of Covid-19 and the nationwide restrictions and consequent economic recession as well as the death of the mother of the Petitioner due to Covid-19 and his own precarious health situations and surgeries, including a kidney surgery on 20.11.2020 as well as another surgery tentatively scheduled in January 2021, the Petitioner has been unable to raise the amounts despite his best efforts," the appeal said.
The actress had lodged two separate FIRs against her estranged spouse Ahasan.
Ahasan was arrested on February 1, 2018, in connection with an FIR lodged at Juhu police station for offences including outraging the modesty and criminal intimidation under the IPC.
He was granted bail in this case.
The second FIR was registered on March 22, 2018 against Ahasan for offences including rape and cheating and he was arrested on the same day by the Mumbai Crime Branch and remained in jail for almost two years before being granted the conditional bail.