Bollywood actor Sunny Leone on Tuesday approached the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a cheating case filed by a coordinator of shows in Kerala and abroad which failed to come off.
The criminal case has been registered under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint filed by Shiyas Kunhumuhammed of Perumbavoor, the coordinator of the shows.
The case
The complainant alleged that the actor and other accused had entered into a contract with him for performing stage shows in Kerala and abroad and had allegedly taken ₹39 lakh. Thereafter, the accused persons had committed a breach of contract by not performing the stage show and failed to return the money.
Ms. Leone’s husband Daniel Weber, and Sunil Rajani, Chief Executive Officer of their production house, who are also accused in the case also sought anticipatory bail.
Petitioners’ contention
They alleged in their petition that Mr. Shiyas was trying to get the petitioners arrested and detained in police custody. In fact, there had been no complaints whatsoever from any quarters against the petitioners so far. The petitioners had not committed any offence as alleged by the complainant. They were innocent of the charges.
They alleged that it was the complainant who was trying to exploit and cheat the petitioners by compelling them to participate in shows proposed by him without making any payment to them as agreed. The petitioner had fully cooperated with the police and apprised them of the true fact and circumstances of the case.
In fact, the Crime Branch had no jurisdiction to investigate into the case as the dispute was of civil nature. The complainant was highly influential and using his political clout to pressure the police to go head with the probe into the false allegation, they alleged.
