The main actor and director of super hit Kannada movie Kantara, Rishab Shetty, and its producer, Vijay Kirgandur were present before Kozhikode Deputy Commissioner of Police, KE Baiju, on Sunday, February 12. The director and producer of the movie appeared before the investigating officer after the Supreme Court of India on Thursday, February 9, modified some of the conditions of anticipatory bail granted to Rishab and Vijay by the Kerala High Court.
On February 8, the Kerala High Court granted anticipatory bail to the director and producer in a case registered in a Kozhikode police station alleging plagiarism in the song ‘Varaha Roopam’. The allegation was that the song was an unauthorised copy of ‘Navarasam’ performed by Thaikkudam Bridge, a popular Kerala-based band. The high court had laid out five conditions and asked Vijay and Rishab to surrender before the investigating officer for two days on February 12 and 13 between 10 am and 1 pm for interrogation.
The conditions stated that the investigating officer can interrogate the two of them, and on completion of interrogation, if they will be arrested, they shall be produced before the jurisdictional court. On such production, the jurisdictional court shall release the petitioners on bail on their executing bonds for Rs 50,000 each with two solvent sureties each, the high court had said. It said the accused shall not intimidate the witnesses or tamper with evidence and they shall cooperate with the investigation and shall be available for trial. It also said that that the accused/petitioners should not leave India without prior permission of the jurisdictional court.
Condition number five said that the filmmakers shall not exhibit Kantara along with the song ‘Varaha Roopam’ in the film till an order is passed by a competent civil court in the copyright infringement case. However, the Supreme Court on Friday, February 10, stayed this particular condition. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala also issued notice to the Kerala government and sought its reply in two weeks.
The bench also modified one of the conditions of the high court and directed that Vijay and Rishab be released on bail immediately if arrested. The top court took note of the submissions of senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Vijay and Rishab, challenging some conditions in the high court order and passed an interim order.
(With PTI inputs)