Shiney gets bail, barred from Mumbai

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Shiney Ahuja in the case of alleged rape of his domestic help but ordered him to stay in Delhi until the trial begins.

Justice A P Deshpande said that the actor would be released on cash bail of Rs 50,000 with a condition that he would stay in Delhi and report to the nearest police station regularly. He will have to provide one or two sureties of amount within a period of three weeks.

The court ruled that Shiney would be permitted to come to Mumbai only during the trial.

The actor was asked to surrender his passport and refrain from offering any inducement to witnesses, directly or indirectly and warned against tampering with evidence.

Shiney was arrested on June 15 after his maid lodged a complaint with Oshivara police station that the actor had raped her at his residence. His wife and child of the actor were not at home when the alleged incident occurred.

Earlier, the actor's bail plea had been rejected twice by the lower court. Being aggrieved, he moved the High Court.

The actor may be released from Arthur Road jail this evening after he pays the surety, his lawyer said.

Police has filed a 109-page chargesheet against Shiney accusing him of raping his domestic help at his residence.

Shiney's lawyer Shirish Gupte and Srikant Shivade argued that evidence indicated a consensual sexual intercourse between the actor and the complainant girl.

'I (Shiney) am not a saint in a sense but not a rapist,' said Gupte.

Shiney's wife Anupam, reacting to High Court order, said, "I'm overwhelmed to hear that Shiney has been granted bail. We've full faith in judicial system."

Shiney has five films in hand -- Migration, Har Pal, Chalo Movie, Accident and Take Two.