KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday asked the prosecution to give some time to actor-producer Vijay Babu facing rape charge to return to India. Citing the Mehul Choksi case, Justice Gopinath P orally observed that there are cases in which the accused were not brought to India in time. Choksi, accused of the PNB scam, is in a foreign country and is protected by that country.
“I am only trying to help the prosecution by bringing him to the jurisdiction of the court. How can I be more explicit? There are countries which give citizenship within 24 hours. What I propose to do is grant him an interim bail so that he can come here. Otherwise, you (prosecution) are not going to get him. Let him come here and we will decide. Then two days after he comes, we will hear the bail plea. He proposes to come on Monday. You have anyway impounded his passport.
If he doesn’t return to India on May 30, his anticipatory bail application will be dismissed. Ultimately, the question is whether to hear the plea in his presence or not,” said the court. The prosecution argued that after fleeing, Vijay Babu is now dictating terms to the court. “We are after him and even if he doesn’t return, we will bring him under the clutches of law. He is a person who has fled from justice after fully knowing the registration of the crime and now he is dictating terms to the court for coming back.
This type of practice cannot be encouraged. We don’t want his mercy,” said the prosecution. To this, the court asked, “Are we playing to the gallery or trying to ensure that the victim gets justice? If we don’t bring him here, how will she get justice? If the bail plea is dismissed, the prosecution can take him into custody, because he can’t go anywhere else.” The court asked the prosecution to inform its stand in this regard on Friday when the plea will be heard again.