The Supreme Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Telugu actor Mohan Babu in a case related to an alleged assault of a journalist.
The Bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah passed the order on a Special Leave Petition filed by the veteran actor against the Telangana High Court order denying him anticipatory bail.
As per the case, Babu’s estranged son barged into his house along with a television crew. During the ensuing scuffle, the veteran actor snatched away the wireless mic of a TV9 correspondent and threw it on him, causing grievous injuries.
The top court of the country inquired Babu about the removal of CCTV footage and whether he had filed a complaint against his son. He was further asked about the alleged assault on the journalist.
The Counsel appearing for Babu submitted that his client would cooperate with the police investigation and that the journalist would be compensated. He added that the attack was not intentional and that the Telugu actor had been facing personal family issues.
The Apex Court granted anticipatory bail to the actor while directing him to cooperate with the ongoing probe.
On January 9, the Apex Court directed the Telangana Police not to take any coercive action against Babu in the case.
The Bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra further issued notice on the petition, returnable in four weeks.
On December 23, the Telangana High Court had observed that the journalist received a grievous injury and underwent surgery for the same.
It further took note of the serious allegations against Babu, including the specific allegation that the Telugu actor was trying to influence the complainant to withdraw his complaint.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Babu before the Apex Court, submitted that the Telugu actor has an estranged son with whom there was a dispute. The son barged into Babu’s home, along with 20-30 mediapersons. In the heat of the moment, Babu threw the mic on the journalist.
The Counsel said Babu was willing to issue a public apology for the incident and even compensate, if required. The Telugu actor even went to meet the journalist in the hospital and expressed sorrow, added Rohatgi.
On the contrary, the Counsel appearing for the journalist alleged that Babu met the TV9 correspondent and threatened him to take back his complaint. The journalist had to spend five days in the hospital. He had to undergo a reconstruction surgery of the jaw and was fed food with a pipe, added the Counsel.
Noting that this was not an apt case to put a man behind bars, Rohatgi said a scuffle took place and Babu was ready to apologise. An attempt to murder charge has been recently added to the complaint against him.
Around 20 people barged into Babu’s house without any reason, said the Senior Counsel, adding that his client was a well-known actor, who was not interested in killing or hurting somebody. The incident happened in the spur of the moment, he noted.
After hearing arguments from both parties, the top court of the country asked the Counsel appearing for the journalist to seek instruction on whether he wanted to be compensated for the incident.