JOIN USThe High Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Dr Prabudha Harsha Murthy, the orthopaedist from Mysore who is facing charges of raping his pregnant sister-in-law.
Justice P S Dinesh Kumar allowed Dr Murthy’s bail plea by granting him the conditional bail.
Accordingly, Murthy has been directed to furnish a bond of Rs five lakh. The court has also warned the petitioner not to tamper with the evidence or threaten the witness. The court has also directed the petitioner to deposit his passport, if any, and cooperate with the police during the investigation. The counsel for petitioner, however, submitted that Murthy does not have a passport.
Earlier, senior counsel C V Nagesh, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, in his argument, said that there is no prima facie material in the case and the petitioner fears that he might be arrested and sought advanced bail. He said that the petitioner will extend his cooperation to the investigating officer and is ready to appear before the officials whenever required.
Murthy had moved the High Court seeking an anticipatory bail after the Seventh Additional District and Sessions court in Mysuru declined to grant advance bail.
The petitioner in his submission had stated that the allegations of sexually assaulting his sister-in-law is far from truth and is aimed at tarnishing his image. He said that the allegations against him is a conspiracy hatched by his brother Pramoda Harsha Murthy, his wife (the complainant) and her father, a retired IAS officer.
Mentioning that the entire episode is hatched eyeing the property of the family, the petitioner said that his brother, Pramoda was indisciplined and had problem with the family members. He had left the house and returned back to family recently. He (the petitioner) said that after Pramoda returned home, he was made a director of B M Hospitals, owned by the family in Mysuru. However that did not last long as he was removed from the post after he began demanding his share in property.
In his petition, he said that Pramoda’s wife, who has filed a rape complaint, had earlier lodged a complaint of dowry harassment against her parents-in law only to pressure the family members. “Having failed in their effort to tarnish the reputation, the trio have now resorted to this allegation,” the petition says.
DH News Service