New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to veteran actor Manchu Mohan Babu in a case regarding an attempt to murder a TV journalist, when he allegedly threw a wireless mic at the victim. The journalist had suffered from grievous injuries.
The matter was heard by a bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah. The bench made the order of January 9, 2025, granting Babu interim protection as absolute, subject to him cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
On January 9, Babu’s counsel submitted that his client was ready to issue a public apology and was also willing to compensate the complainant. The counsel, representing the journalist, said he had to undergo reconstruction surgery after sustaining injuries on his jaws. The counsel claimed that the actor had visited the hospital to threaten him.
Countering this contention, Babu’s counsel said his client is a well-known actor and not interested in hurting anybody. The top court granted interim relief to the actor for four weeks.
The actor moved the top court challenging the validity of the Telangana High Court order of December 23, 2024, which declined to grant him anticipatory bail. The high court observed that the journalist received a grievous injury and underwent surgery, and also noted the allegations against the actor that he attempted to influence the complainant to withdraw his complaint.
The case was initially registered under Section 118 of the BNS for the attack on the journalist at his residence in Jalpally. Later, the police added Section 109 of BNS (attempt to murder) to the case.
