Bombay HC Rejects Bail Plea of Film-Maker Who Shared Old Picture of Amit Shah

The court asked Avinash Das to approach a court in Ahmedabad for protection from arrest.

Avinash Das. 

(Photo Courtesy: Screenshot/Rajya Sabha TV)

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday, 24 May, rejected the transit pre-arrest bail of film-maker Avinash Das, who was charged by the Gujarat Police for sharing a photo of Home Minister Amit Shah with Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pooja Sehgal, who was recently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering probe.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Bharati Dangre had rejected the bail plea, and asked Das to "approach the appropriate forum for relief," PTI reported.

The FIR against Das was filed in Ahmedabad. The judge asked him to approach the relevant court in the city for protection from arrest.

Background

Earlier this month, the ED had arrested Jharkhand's mining secretary Singhal in a case that involved alleged misutilisation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds. The ED had also seized Rs 18 crore in cash from a chartered accountant who was allegedly linked to the IAS officer.

An official from Ahmedabad Police’s Detection of Crime Branch said that Das had shared a photo on Twitter on 8 May, in which Shah and Singhal were seen together at a public event five years ago.

However, the official said that Das had tried to mislead people through the photo and defame the home minister.

Das had directed the 2017 film Anaarkali of Aarah, starring Swara Bhaskar, Sanjay Mishra, and Pankaj Tripathi.

(With inputs from PTI.)