The Kerala High Court on Monday directed actor-producer Vijay Babu, an accused in a rape case filed by an actor, to produce the ticket for travelling back to the country. The court added that it would consider his anticipatory bail once he produced the ticket.
Justice Gopinath P. made the remarks when the anticipatory bail petition filed by the actor came up for hearing. The petitioner was abroad when the investigation was launched, his counsel submitted. In fact, the police had taken steps to impound his passport. Therefore, he was unable to come here. The court then said, “Let him come here and make himself available to the jurisdiction of the court.”
Blackmail attempt
The counsel alleged in his petition that the actor had attempted to blackmail the petitioner by filing a false complaint against him. The actor used to call the petitioner at odd hours and send thousands of messages, mostly abusive. He did not lodge a complaint as his future prospects would be affected. He had kept all messages, photos, and videos sent from the mobile number of the actor and was prepared to produce them before the investigating agency.
The counsel said it was the duty of the statutory authorities to ascertain the veracity of the allegation before defaming an individual on the basis of a complaint which could not be substantiated.
