Bengaluru Court Grants Bail To Prakash Raj In Multiple Voter ID Case
Prakash Raj has been granted bail by a Bengaluru court in a case alleging multiple voter registrations and omissions in his 2019 election affidavit. After his voluntary appearance, the court allowed bail.
Actor Prakash Raj has secured bail from a Bengaluru court in a case linked to his nomination for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The matter centres on allegations that he was enrolled as a voter in more than one state while contesting the parliamentary polls and did not disclose those entries in his election affidavit. The court granted him bail after he appeared voluntarily, paving the way for the case to move to trial. The proceedings stem from a private complaint filed in Bengaluru, with the court earlier finding sufficient material to examine the allegations under the Representation of the People Act.
Bail Granted After Court Appearance
A Bengaluru court granted bail to Prakash Raj on July 10 after the actor appeared before it voluntarily, according to a Bar and Bench report. Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Shantappa Kale directed Raj to furnish a security deposit of Rs 4,000 and remain present for all future hearings.
The court had earlier issued a non-bailable warrant after summons could not be served on him. Raj's counsel, Nagarjuna, told the court that the actor had never received the warrant and became aware of the proceedings only through media reports. The lawyer also informed the court that Raj has surrendered his Tamil Nadu voter identity card.
Appearing for the complainant, advocate Dharmapal argued that the allegations relate to non-cognisable offences. After hearing both sides, the court allowed Raj's bail plea.
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Multiple Voter Roll Allegations
The case originated from a private complaint filed by Bengaluru resident K Dileep Kumar. On August 1, 2025, the magistrate took cognisance of the complaint under Sections 31 and 125A of the Representation of the People Act. Raj had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Bengaluru Central as an Independent candidate. In his election affidavit, he declared that he was registered as a voter in Bengaluru's Shantinagar Assembly constituency.
The complainant, however, alleged that Raj's name also appeared in two electoral rolls in the Velachery Assembly constituency in Chennai and another in Telangana's Serilingampally Assembly constituency during the same period. According to the complaint, Sections 17 and 18 of the Representation of the People Act bar a person from being registered as a voter in more than one constituency or more than once in the same constituency. It further claims that Section 31 deals with false declarations relating to electoral rolls, while Section 125A concerns filing a false affidavit.
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Evidence Led Court To Order Trial
During the proceedings, the complainant examined himself as a witness and submitted seven documents, including Prakash Raj's 2019 election affidavits and electoral records from Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
After examining the material placed before it, the court observed that Raj appeared to have been listed in three electoral rolls in 2019 despite mentioning only the Shantinagar constituency in his nomination affidavit. On that basis, the magistrate held that there was sufficient material to proceed with charges under Sections 31 and 125A of the Representation of the People Act. With bail now granted, the matter will proceed to trial.
The case will now move through the trial stage, where the court will examine the evidence and determine whether the allegations against Prakash Raj are proved in accordance with the law.
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