Prakash Raj Gets Bail From Bengaluru Court In 2019 Multiple Voter ID Case

A Bengaluru court has granted bail to actor Prakash Raj in the case concerning the 2019 Lok Sabha elections wherein the actor is accused of being registered to vote in multiple states at the time and leaving that detail out of his official election affidavit. 

In an order passed on July 10, Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Shantappa Kale granted bail to actor Prakash Raj. As part of his bail conditions, he must pay a ₹4,000 security deposit and attend all future court hearings. 

A private complaint was filed by one advocate K Dilip Kumar, alleging that the actor held voter identification cards in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, which amounts to a violation of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The court had initially issued summons to the actor in February 2026. When he did not appear, the court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW).  A third NBW was issued in June, after which Raj moved court to seek relief.

The complaint contends that Sections 17 and 18 of the Representation of the People Act prohibit a person from being registered in more than one constituency or more than once in the same constituency. It further notes that Section 31 penalises making a false declaration in connection with electoral rolls, while Section 125A prescribes the punishment for filing a false affidavit.

Raj had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from the Bengaluru Central constituency as an independent candidate. He had declared in his election affidavit that his name was enrolled in the electoral roll of the Shantinagar Assembly constituency in Bengaluru.

However, the complainant alleged that at the same time, the actor's name also appeared in three other electoral rolls—two entries in the Velachery Assembly constituency in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and one entry in the Serilingampally Assembly constituency in Telangana.