Supreme Court Grants Interim Relief To Actor Mohan Babu Accused Of Throwing Mic At Reporter
The Supreme Court today granted interim relief to actor Manchu Mohan Babu who had allegedly thrown a mic at a journalist at his residence, ordering that no coercive action shall be taken against him till the next date of hearing.
The Court was hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by Mohan Babu against the Telangana High Court’s Order denying him anticipatory bail. The specific allegation against him is that his estranged son barged into his house along with a television crew, during the course of which a scuffle arose and Mohan Babu threw a wireless mic at a journalist.
Issuing notice, a two-Judge Bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice P.K. Mishra ordered, “No coercive measure till the next date of hearing.” The Bench listed the matter for further hearing after four weeks.
Appearing for Mohan Babu, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi said, “This is not a case where this man should be in jail” and that things happened "in the spur of the moment."
“I am willing to compensate him. I am willing to apologise. I am a well-known actor. I am interested in killing somebody or hurting somebody” Rohatgi told the Bench, offering to issue a public apology.
The counsel for the journalist asked the Bench to take note of the extent of injuries suffered by him. He said, “I had to spend five days at a hospital. I had a fractured jaw (for which) I had a reconstruction surgery. I was fed food through a pipe. (Then) he comes to the hospital. An accused coming to the hospital is unheard of.” To this, Rohatgi immediately replied, “I wanted to express sorrow.”
The counsel for the journalist claimed that during the hospital visit, Mohan Babu asked him to withdraw his complaint.
Towards the end of the hearing, Rohatgi said that by barging into Mohan Babu’s house, the TV crew had committed trespass, to which Justice Dhulia said, "But if somebody comes, it doesn't mean you disfigure him like this." Rohatgi clarified that he wasn’t interested in pursuing the allegation of trespassing.
Cause Title: Manchu Mohan Babu v. State of Telangana And Anr. [SLP(Crl) No. 132/2025]
