False obituary: HC relief for hotel owner

The Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a hotel owner, who had allegedly published a false obituary of his landlord.

The Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a hotel owner, who had allegedly published a false obituary of his landlord.

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On September 17, 2009 Shekhar Shetty had published an obituary in two newspapers about the death of his landlord — purportedly because of a long pending civil dispute between the two.

The police had arrested an employee working in Shetty’s hotel who had issued the advertisement on the basis of landlord’s forged death certificate. Shetty name cropped up in the case after the employee revealed that his employer had published the obituary.

Shetty moved the high court after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Sessions court. The high court granted him anticipatory bail of Rs 15,000 on Thursday, saying custodial interrogation at this stage would not serve any purpose.