Actor Prakash Raj faces arrest; Bengaluru court issues non-bailable warrant

BENGALURU: A magistrate court in Bengaluru has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against veteran actor Prakash Raj. The development comes after the actor repeatedly failed to appear before the court in connection with a case involving the alleged possession of multiple voter identification cards. The court initiated the stringent action following Prakash Raj’s continued absence and lack of response to multiple consecutive summonses.

The legal dispute dates back to 2019, following a complaint filed by an advocate, Dilip Kumar, at the Halasuru Gate police station in Bengaluru. The complainant alleged that Prakash Raj holds simultaneous voter registrations across four southern states: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
According to the guidelines laid down by the Election Commission of India, a citizen is legally permitted to maintain voter registration in only one constituency across the country. Holding active registrations in multiple locations constitutes a violation of electoral laws.

Prakash Raj has previously denied the allegations, calling them baseless. He had earlier clarified that while he has connections across these states, he is registered to vote and exercises his franchise exclusively in Tamil Nadu.
Sources close to the actor indicate that his legal team is moving swiftly to counter the warrant. He is expected to approach a higher court shortly to seek a stay on the arrest warrant or to file for an appropriate bail application.