As Salem was produced before the TADA court in Mumbai, hearing 1993 bomb blast case, CBI prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam informed the judge P D Kode that the Bollywod starlet Monica Bedi had been sentenced to five years' jail term in the forgery case.

Salem appeared to be shocked and looked nervously at the prosecutor. Sporting an off-white half sleeve shirt and dark navy blue jeans, Salem, however, did not say a word but lent a patient ear to the prosecutor's address to the court about Monica's conviction.

Earlier, Salem had pleaded before the judge to allow him to face the trial in Hyderabad first and other cases later but the court told him that 1993 bomb blast case would be given the top priority.

Bedi was extradited from Portugal on November 11 2005, along with Abu Salem, and had been lodged in a women's prison in Andhra Pradesh. Bedi and Salem had obtained passports in August 2001 under false names and addresses.

Bedi's passport was issued in the name of Sana Malik Kamal while Salem got the passport issued in the name of Ramil Kamal Malik.