Hyderabad court acquits bizman accused of marrying IAS officer while married to actress

HYDERABAD: A businessman accused of marrying an IAS officer while keeping his first wife, an actress, in the dark, was recently acquitted by a city court. He faced charges of bigamy (496) and cheating (420) of the IPC for marrying the bureaucrat.A woman IPS officer was witness to the marriage as the ceremony was held at her home in the city. Initially, the case against the two officials, both of whom are currently in Andhra Pradesh, was dropped due to lack of evidence, while the III additional chief judicial magistrate at Hyderabad took up the trial against the businessman and set him free as charges against him could not be proved. The case was initially registered at SR Nagar police station in May 2016 on a complaint from the actress.

She claimed that she had married the accused in 1994, and they had a son. She alleged that the accused left their home with her valuables and married the IAS officer in April 2016, at the residence of the IPS officer. She also claimed that IPS officer signed as a witness, along with IAS officer's PA and other staff. For the IAS officer, it was also the second marriage as her husband, an IPS officer, was killed in a mine blast by the Maoists.

Police told the court that they had recorded the statements of witnesses and found that allegations against two officers were not established. They dropped their names and filed a chargesheet only against the businessman.During the trial, the judge noted that key witnesses were not produced before the court, and marriage-related claims were not proved with documentary evidence. The actress also did not appear before the court to testify. Though the witnesses examined during the trial, including a neighbour and a watchman, confirmed the couple (the accused and the actress) lived together, they did not support allegations related to the marriage.

Ruling that the charges against the accused could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt, the court acquitted him of all charges.