Bengaluru: Union minister's son among 3 granted anticipatory bail in fraud case

Union minister V Somanna's son Arun Somanna and two others have been granted anticipatory bail in a cheque bounce case registered against them at Sanjaynagar police station in Bengaluru. V Somanna is the Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti.

The 45th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court Judge, Mohammad Moinuddin, granted bail to Arun, D Jeevan Kumar, and G Pramod Rao, who sought anticipatory bail in the criminal case filed against them by Tripti Hegde.

Anticipatory bail granted

“The Sanjaynagar police should not arrest the petitioner till further orders. The anticipatory bail application filed by the petitioner is granted,” the court ordered, in response to the complaint filed by Hegde. A notice was issued to the police and the hearing was adjourned to June 22.

Senior advocate HS Chandramouli, representing the petitioners, argued, “The police have decided to arrest the petitioner based on the false complaint filed by Tripti Hegde on June 2. A dispute has arisen between the complainant and the petitioner regarding a partnership agreement dated April 29, 2019. Arun is the son of a Union Minister, and there is a rush to arrest him on charges of non-bailable offences.”

Check bounce case

Chandramouli further pointed out that Arun had filed a cheque bounce case against Hegde, leading to a series of legal confrontations. “There is a serious dispute between Arun and the other petitioners, and Hegde regarding company partnership and financial dealings. Considering the factual aspects, the offences against the petitioner are non-bailable. Anticipatory bail is being granted as the apprehension of the petitioner is well-founded, given that the offence under IPC Section 327 carries a maximum punishment of 10 years,” the court noted.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka.)