Prakash Raj secures Bail in multiple voter ID case

Bengaluru : Multilingual actor Prakash Raj appeared before a Bengaluru magistrate court on Friday, July 10, and secured bail after the court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him for failing to appear in connection with a private complaint alleging that he possessed multiple voter identity cards.

The complaint was filed by K. Dileep Kumar before the 48th ACJM Court, alleging that Prakash Raj had voter identity cards registered in Karnataka as well as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in violation of Election Commission rules.

The court had earlier issued summons to the actor on two occasions. As he failed to appear, it subsequently issued a non-bailable warrant. Following the warrant, Prakash Raj personally appeared before the court through his counsel and participated in the proceedings.

During the hearing, the actor’s lawyer submitted that although the court had issued summons, the copy of the summons had not been served on the actor. The defence further argued that Prakash Raj had already surrendered his voter registration in Tamil Nadu and had his name removed from the electoral roll there.

After hearing the submissions, the court granted bail to the actor on furnishing a cash surety of ₹4,000.

Under Election Commission norms, every Indian citizen is permitted to possess only one valid voter identity card irrespective of where they reside. The complainant alleged that the actor had violated these provisions by retaining voter registrations in more than one state. The court will continue hearing the case at a later date.