Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday quashed the FIR registered against Kukesh Rauta of Odisha who was arrested for allegedly extorting Rs 5 lakh from Aldona MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira after creating his morphed obscene video. The Court also imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioner and asked him to deposit the money in the Goa Police Welfare Fund, within a fortnight.
The Crime Branch police had arrested Rauta in December last year for allegedly extorting Rs 5 lakh from the Aldona MLA after morphing his face in an obscene video and further demanding Rs 5 crore from him.
Kukesh Rauta in his criminal writ petition (WPCR) had prayed to quash the FIR stating that he had amicably settled the matter with the complainant Adv Alvares.
Later, the petitioner’s counsel senior advocate Nitin Sardesai said that the High Court quashed and set aside the FIR and ordered that no further investigation by the police in terms of the payer.
“The ground which we had asked to quash the FIR was that at the end of the day the matter has been settled between my client and one of the respondents. So there was no question of going ahead with the matter because it will never result in a conviction,” senior advocate Sardesai said.
However, the Crime Branch vehemently opposed the petitioner's plea on the ground that it will shake up the social fabric and that the case should serve as a strong deterrent.
According to Senior Adv Sardesai, the court considered the police arguments and opined that at the end of the day it will not land up in a conviction. The only deterrent was the court imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the petitioner and asked him to deposit the amount in the Goa Police Welfare Fund within next 15 days.