Special CBI court rejects CBFC CEO bail petition

Special Judge R N Joshi observed that, “In such cases, some more time is necessary for the prosecution to complete the investigation. Therefore, I do not find it appropriate to release the applicant (Kumar) on bail.”

Moreover, the court said that from the material collected by the investigating officer, it is “crystal clear” that without following due process, films were cleared in the absence of either a report or remarks from the screening committee.

The court also said that the statements collected show that specific demands were made by Kumar for early issuance of film certification depending on the number of days within which a movie had to be cleared.

Arguing for Kumar, advocate Nitin Pradhan said that the statements given by two others accused in the case, who are agents associated with the board, could not be used as presumption to keep Kumar in judicial custody. The court, however, has granted bail to both the agents arrested by the CBI.