Telangana high court defers bail, asks Ravi Prakash for written arguments

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on the anticipatory bail petitions filed by Mr V. Ravi Prakash, former CEO of the TV9 group, to June 18 for a decision.

The court directed Mr Prakash and the Telangana state police to submit written arguments of their versions.

On Tuesday, Justice Ghandikota Sridevi heard elaborate arguments put forth by Mr Harin Raval — a senior counsel of the Supreme Court, representing the Telangana Police — against Mr Prakash, who has been evading arrest and absconding.

He submitted that the former CEO had sold the TV9 logo illegally for `99,000, while its actual value is estimated to be over `100 crore. He further added that Mr Prakash failed to cooperate with the investigating officers when he appeared before them.

Counsel for Mr Prakash submitted that the logo was designed by the petitioner and that he had rights on it under the Copyrights Act.

Meanwhile, Sontineni Sivaji, former actor, filed a criminal petition seeking to quash the FIR registered against him by Cyberabad Police regarding his alleged transactions to purchase TV9 shares. He sought a stay on all further proceedings, including his arrest.

He said he had transferred `20 lakh to Mr Prakash through RTGS to purchase 40,000 equity shares of TV9. And although he transferred the amount a while ago, the shares were never transferred to him owing to the pendency of a case before NCLT, New Delhi.