Nearly a month after Malayalam actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Suresh Gopi moved the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a tax evasion case, the actor-MP has finally been granted temporary respite.
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Suresh Gopi, in a case related to tax evasion. Suresh Gopi has been accused of evading tax by forging documents and registering his luxury car in Puducherry, thereby paying only a minimal amount as road tax.
The actor-MP had reportedly registered his Audi Q7 in Puducherry by paying only Rs 1.5 lakh as road tax. Registering a luxury car in Kerala will cost the owner anywhere around Rs 14 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
Granting anticipatory bail to MP Suresh Gopi, the HC directed him to appear before the Crime Branch on every Saturday for a period of one month.
The HC had earlier on January 4 restrained the Kerala police from arresting Suresh Gopi for 10 days.
The Crime Branch had filed a case against Suresh Gopi in the first week of December last year after it was found that the actor-MP had evaded an exorbitant amount of road tax.
Following the Crime Branch registering a criminal case against him, Suresh Gopi moved the HC seeking anticipatory bail. On December 21, Suresh Gopi appeared before the Crime Branch in Thiruvananthapuram for questioning, as per the directions of the court, asking the actor-MP to cooperate with the investigation.
It was not just Suresh Gopi against whom criminal cases were registered with regard to evading tax. Actors Fahadh Faasil and Amala Paul also came under the scanner for registering their luxury cars in Puducherry.
On Tuesday, while considering Amala Paul's anticipatory bail that was filed on December 21, the HC directed the actor to appear before the Crime Branch for questioning.