HYDERABAD: No blood samples will be taken from Tollywood actress Charmme Kaur when she is questioned on Wednesday about her possible involvement with drug peddlers in Telugu cinema.
After hearing her petition today, Hyderabad High Court judge A Rajasekar Reddy directed the detectives of the Prohibiiton and Excise Department to question Charmme between 10 am and 5pm on Wednesday, at a place of her choice.
The judge, however, turned down her request to allow her to take her lawyers along to her grilling by the special investigation team which is probing the Tollywood drug scandal but directed the detectives not to force her to submit blood samples.
Charmme’s lawyer, P Vishnuvardhan Reddy argued that questioning the actress under duress would be unconstitutional and against the guidelines given by the Supreme Court in the Nandini Satpathy case. He asserted that his client is neither an accused nor a witness in the case.
The special counsel for Prohibition and Excise, Sharath Kumar, clarified that no pressure was sought to brought upon the actress to submit samples. The actress is among 12 Tollywood personalities who have been summoned to explain their presence in the call records of drug dealers arrested in Hyderabad in recent weeks. All those who have been summoned so far have voluntarily given samples, he said.
Judge Rajasekhar Reddy assented to Sharath Kumar’s argument against allowing Charmme access to her lawyers during the questioning.
However, a woman officer will be present and Prohibition and Excise agreed not to pressurize the actress during questioning. The entire proceedings will be videographed.a