HC quashes non-bailable warrant issued against actor Arjun Rampal

The Bombay High Court has set aside a non-bailable warrant issued against actor Arjun Rampal in a 2019 tax evasion case, calling the lower court's order "mechanical" and passed without proper application of mind.

- Karuna Nidhi

MUMBAI: Rampal had approached the High Court seeking relief from a December 2019 order of the Mazgaon Magistrate, which directed the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him in a case initiated by the Income Tax (IT) Department.

The department had accused the actor of wilfully evading advance tax of ₹42.41 lakh for the assessment year 2016-17. Through counsel Swapnil Ambure and advocate-on-record Ameet Naik and Madhu Gadodia of Naik & Naik, Rampal contended that the warrant was illegal and unjustified, as the offence was bailable and punishable by a maximum of three years in prison.