New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted protection from any coercive action to Telugu 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 came up before a bench comprising justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Prashant Kumar Mishra. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Babu, contended that the incident occurred in the heat of the moment when he threw a mic after his estranged son barged into his house along with many media persons.
Rohatgi said his client was ready to issue a public apology and 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, Rohatgi said his client is a well-known actor and not interested in hurting anybody.
After hearing submissions, the apex court issued notice to the state government and the journalist on Babu’s plea. The actor moved the apex court challenging the validity of the Telangana High Court order of December 23, 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.
Today, the apex court granted interim relief to the actor for four weeks and also sought a response from the journalist if he was interested in getting compensation.
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.
