The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Telangana Police not to take any coercive action against Telugu actor Mohan Babu in a case related to an alleged assault of a journalist.
The Bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra passed the order on a Special Leave Petition filed by Bahu against the Telangana High Court order, which denied him anticipatory bail.
The top court of the country further issued notice on the petition, returnable in four weeks.
A TV9 Correspondent had alleged that Babu snatched away his wireless mic and threw it on him, causing grievous injuries.
On December 23, the High Court 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.
At the outset of hearing in the Apex Court, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Babu, 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.