In another setback for Mohammed Nalapad Haris, the Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed his plea to travel out of the country. On Friday, Nalapad had sought the court's permission to travel to London to meet his brother for 15 days. Justice John Michael Cunha has directed him to file a petition with the Sessions Court instead.

Nalapad, son of Congress MLA NA Harris, is out on bail in a high-profile assault case, where he and his associates beat up a man in an upscale eatery in Bengaluru. However, his bail conditions prohibit him from leaving the city. The Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru police had filed the chargesheet against the budding politician in May. The case is being heard by the 8th Additional Magistrate.

He will face trial for attempt to murder, assault and other charges for his attack on L Vidvat, the son of a businessman, on February 17. Nalapad had surrendered himself before police two days after the incident and since then spent more than 100 days in jail.

In the chargesheet, the police claimed that it was Nalapad who had initiated the incident and provoked his aides with the intention of murdering Vidvat.

According to the chargesheet, Vidvat, who had broken his leg, was sitting stretched out at the restaurant when he brushed against Nalapad by mistake. Enraged, Nalapad demanded an apology.“I am a son of local MLA NA Haris. You are not even equal to my shoe. You say sorry and kiss my feet,” he is reported to have said.

However, when Vidvat refused, Nalapad called his aides and the fight broke out, where they beat up Vidvat so badly he had to hospitalised.

The assault case came just ahead of the state elections and had become easy fodder for the Opposition to attack Congress. In fact, NA Haris was only one of the four candidates who had to wait for his name to appear in the second list of Congress contestants.