AMPLE EVIDENCE OF RAPE AGAINST MORANI, SC TOLD
Telangana police on Monday informed the Supreme Court that there is ample evidence of rape against the Bollywood Producer Karim Morani, who has been granted bail by the Hyderabad High Court in November last.
Counsel Uday Sagar for Telangana made this submission before a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud hearing a plea to cancel the bail granted to Karim Morani. Counsel said chargesheet had been filed and there is enough evidence of rape against the producer.
Counsel Ms Karuna Nandini appearing for the rape victim drew the court attention to the fact that though notice was issued in February, the producer had not filed his response.
Telangana police on Monday informed the Supreme Court that there is ample evidence of rape against the Bollywood Producer Karim Morani, who has been granted bail by the Hyderabad High Court in November last.
However, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra sought time for filing the response though they said the court can proceed with the hearing as the entire case is bogus. The court while fixing the matter for final hearing on May 8 and in the meanwile asked Morani to file his reply to the plea for cancellation of bail.
A 25-year-old MBA woman from Delhi, who was also interested in films, had lodged a complaint with Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagawat that Morani had abused her many times in Mumbai and in a film studio on Hyderabad outskirts by blackmailing. She said he had first violated her in Mumbai by calling her for a party where he allegedly drugged her. She alleged that the exploitation continued for more than a year-anda-half.
The police have registered a case against Morani under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), 417 (cheating) and Section 354C of the Criminal Law Amendment Act (popularly known as Nirbhaya Act) Though Morani had initially succeeded in obtaining an anticipatory bail, the police got it cancelled after gathering evidences including the call detail record, WhatsApp chat, mails and messages between the duo that are said to be substantiating the girl’s character. Later the Hyderabad High Court released him on bail. The present petition sought cancellation of the bail.