A Bengaluru court has granted bail to actor and former independent Lok Sabha candidate Prakash Raj in a criminal case alleging that he was registered as a voter in multiple Assembly constituencies across different States and suppressed those details in the affidavit submitted with his nomination papers for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Shantappa Kale on Friday directed Prakash Raj to furnish a cash security of Rs 4,000 and remain present on every date of hearing as a condition for bail. The court also recalled the non-bailable warrant (NBW) that had earlier been issued against the actor after repeated summons could not be served and he failed to appear before the trial court. It was the third NBW issued during the proceedings.
Appearing for Prakash Raj, Advocate Nagarjuna submitted that the actor had never been served with the summons or warrant and became aware of the criminal proceedings only through media reports. It was further submitted that his voter identity card issued in Tamil Nadu had since been surrendered.
Counsel for the complainant informed the court that the alleged offences were non-cognisable. After considering the submissions of both sides, the magistrate granted bail and directed that the trial proceed in accordance with law.
The prosecution arises out of a private complaint filed by Bengaluru resident and Advocate K Dileep Kumar. The complainant alleged that Prakash Raj was enrolled as a voter in multiple constituencies in violation of the provisions of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951.
On August 1, 2025, the magistrate took cognisance of offences punishable under Sections 31 and 125A of the RP Act after concluding that the complaint, oral testimony and documentary evidence disclosed sufficient prima facie material to initiate criminal proceedings.
Prakash Raj had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from the Bengaluru Central parliamentary constituency as an independent candidate. In the election affidavit filed with his nomination papers, he declared that his name was on the electoral roll of the Shantinagar Assembly constituency in Bengaluru.
The complainant, however, alleged that at the relevant time the actor’s name also appeared in three other electoral rolls, including two separate entries in the Velachery Assembly constituency in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and one entry in the Serilingampally Assembly constituency in Telangana. The complaint also alleged that Raj possessed voter identity cards in multiple States, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
According to the complaint, Sections 17 and 18 of the RP Act prohibit a person from being registered as an elector in more than one constituency or more than once in the same constituency. It was further alleged that Section 31 criminalises false declarations in connection with electoral rolls, while Section 125A prescribes punishment for filing a false affidavit in election proceedings.
The complainant examined himself as the first witness and produced seven documents in support of the allegations. These included copies of Prakash Raj’s nomination affidavit, an additional affidavit dated March 21, 2019, and electoral records purportedly showing his enrollment in the Velachery and Serilingampally constituencies.
After examining the pleadings, oral evidence and documentary material placed on record, the magistrate observed that the available records prima facie indicated that the accused’s name appeared in multiple electoral rolls during 2019, whereas his nomination affidavit disclosed only his enrollment in the Shantinagar constituency.
The court held that the material on record disclosed a prima facie case for offences punishable under Sections 31 and 125A of the Representation of the People Act and directed that the criminal proceedings continue to trial.
The complaint was originally lodged with the Halasuru Gate Police Station in 2019. Alleging inaction by the police, the complainant subsequently approached the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner and the Election Commission of India before initiating private criminal proceedings before the magistrate.
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