BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday dismissed the bail petition of Congress MLA N A Haris's son Mohammed Nalapad Haris while observing that the incident of assault on 24-year-old Vidvat Loganathan at Farzi Cafe on the night of February 17 appeared to be horrifying and terrifying. The court made the observations after seeing CCTV footage of the brutal attack.
Rejecting the bail plea of Mohammed in the jam-packed court hall at 2.30 pm on Wednesday, Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar said the CCTV footage showed the horrendous atmosphere created when the incident took place and there was no guarantee that such people will remain quiet without tampering with evidence once they come out of jail. Hence, "I come to the conclusion that this petition deserves dismissal. Petition is dismissed. Bail is rejected," the judge said.
Further, the court said, "So far as the position of the petitioner in society is concerned, he (Nalapad) is the son of a sitting MLA and wields power. This can be very much made out after watching CCTV footage. The way he and his men brutally attacked the victim shows the exhibition of wielding muscle power."
In the judgment, the court noted that the fact that nobody in the restaurant came to the rescue of the injured is also a factor which cannot be ignored. The entire incident appears to be horrifying and terrifying. Therefore, if a person who wields such authority and power, if released on bail, is sure to use his position to destroy evidence, the court said.
Mohammed moved the High Court as the trial court rejected his bail plea on the ground that the investigation is not yet completed. Taking this as one of the grounds for bail rejection, the High Court said it was not a drunken brawl as claimed by Mohammed's counsel, and as the doctor stated Vidvat was not under the influence of alcohol.
But the court said the doctor's discharge summary stating that 'no untoward incident took place' could have been made under the influence of Mohammed, and the same cannot be ignored. On the complaint and counter-complaint filed over the incident, the court said the very registration of counter case at the instance of Arun Babu, one of the accused, appears to be due to intervention by a police officer.
The counsel for Nalapad argued that the incident which was a drunken brawl in a bar and restaurant was unnecessarily hyped by the media, both print and electronic, just because Mohammed happens to be the son of a sitting MLA. In reply, Special Public Prosecutor M S Shyam Sundar argued that Mohammed and his gang mercilessly and ruthlessly assaulted the injured which had all the consequences of taking away his life, but for timely medical intervention.
What Next?
Mohammed Nalapad now may move Supreme Court for bail or he may wait till the chargesheet is filed by the police and move the trial court for bail. But a source said they are yet to decide the future course of action.