A Bengaluru court has granted interim anticipatory bail to suspended Congress general secretary Kripa Alva, Power TV cameraman KV Prasanth Kumar and one Vinod Kumar in connection with the case registered after an allegedly fabricated sting video targeting former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was circulated online.
Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge Shankarappa Nimbanna Kalkani passed the order on November 2.
The case was registered on a complaint filed by Siddaramaiah with the police on October 6, alleging that unidentified persons had circulated a fabricated video containing malicious allegations against him in an attempt to blackmail and defame him.
The video, which surfaced online on September 26, purportedly showed conversations between Power TV Managing Director Rakesh Shetty and Kripa Alva with a woman who claimed to have been victimised by Siddaramaiah in 2011.
Kripa Alva was recently suspended from the Congress party for six years citing anti-party activities, after the video surfaced.
She and other accused persons moved a trial court in Bengaluru seeking anticipatory bail in the sting video case.
Alva's counsel submitted that she had appeared before the investigating officer on October 7, 10 and 18 and cooperated with the investigation, despite not having received prior notices.
It was contended that Alva had not made any damaging statements as alleged in the first information report (FIR) and was apprehending arrest and detention.
Her counsel further submitted that she was neither the owner, creator nor administrator of the YouTube channel “Karnataka Honey Trap”, on which the controversial video was uploaded.
The counsel appearing for Power TV cameraman KV Prasanth Kumar submitted that Kumar had cooperated with the investigation and that the police had already seized his two mobile phones. It was contended that the cameraman had no role in the alleged offences and was neither the owner, creator nor administrator of the YouTube channel.
Vinod Kumar's counsel submitted that the investigating officer had conducted a search at his residence pursuant to a search warrant and that he, too had cooperated with the investigation. The counsel further contended that the accused had no role in the alleged defamation and was not the owner, creator or administrator of the YouTube channel.
In its interim order, the court observed that stringent conditions could be imposed to ensure a fair investigation while safeguarding the accused's personal liberty.
It, therefore, granted interim anticipatory bail to the three accused, subject to their executing personal bonds of ₹1 lakh each with one surety for an equivalent amount in the event of arrest.
The case registered by the Bengaluru Cyber Crime Police cites Sections 61 (criminal conspiracy), 3(5) (joint liability), 308(6) (extortion), 336(4) and 340(2) (relating to forgery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66C (identity theft) of the Information Technology Act.
On October 29, three persons associated with the Janata Dal (Secular)'s social media operations secured interim anticipatory bail in the same case. Rakesh Shetty had also earlier been granted interim anticipatory bail.
Kripa Alva, Power TV cameraman KV Prasanth Kumar and Vinod Kumar were represented by advocates Raghavendra Shenoy M, Naresh Santhosh K S and Sachin C, respectively.
State Public Prosecutor B N Jagadish appeared for the State.