HYDERABAD: Actor Rajashekar and his actress-wife Jeevitha were on Wednesday sentenced to two years imprisonment and imposed a Rs 5,000 penalty in a defamation suit filed against them for their allegations against Chiranjeevi Blood Bank in 2011.
The 17th Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Nampally Criminal Court pronounced the conviction in the defamation case filed by producer Allu Arvind.
Meanwhile, the actor-duo was granted bail by the same court so as to give them time to appeal the order.
In 2011, the two alleged that Chiranjeevi Blood Bank, run by megastar Chiranjeevi, sold the blood that was collected free of cost from donors at Rs 850 per unit. They also alleged large-scale irregularities in the blood bank and Chiranjeevi's Charitable Trust, which received Rs 14.5 lakh from the state government for maintenance of the blood bank. Allu Aravind is Chiranjeevi’s brother-in-law.
Meanwhile, commenting about the judgment, senior lawyer Ramesh Singh said, “The order of Rs 5,000 fine and the jail term was suspended within 15 minutes and we were given permission to appeal in the sessions court in the next 30 days.”
On the original plea of a Rs 10-crore defamation case filed by Allu Arvind, the lawyer added, “The court dropped the defamation charges due to lack of proper evidence. We will move the higher court since we have enough material to get necessary relief.”
However, a source close to the family claims that Rajasekhar and Jeevitha had withdrawn a case they had filed in the same Nampally Court against fans of the megastar for attacking their car in 2011.
“In 2012, the said court convicted seven members who were involved in the crime. However, the couple went to the court and withdrew the case,” he added.
On the clash between Arvind and Dr Rajasekhar, a veteran producer, on condition of anonymity said, “Actors have to be cautious when throwing up allegations in the political arena. If there is already a running feud between the two families it is bound to take an ugly turn. It is always better to check facts before making allegations.”
