Suspended CBFC CEO seeks bail, says agents' lobby framed him

Bs_logoImage
Press Trust of India Mumbai
Last Updated : Aug 26 2014 | 10:10 PM IST
Suspended CEO of Central Board of Film Certification Rakesh Kumar, arrested by CBI on the charge of accepting bribes to give censor certificate to films, today filed a bail application arguing he has been framed by a lobby of agents.
His application would come up for hearing before the special CBI court on August 28 when he would complete ten days in CBI custody.
Kumar's lawyers Mahesh Vaswani and Dharini Nagda today filed the bail plea which contends that he was framed by the agents' lobby because he had initiated reforms to curb red tape and increase transparency.
According to Kumar, when he took charge as CEO in January this year, he found that agents' lobby and red-tape had resulted in a pile-up of over 250 films seeking certificates. He made efforts to make the whole system more transparent and brought down the pendency to zero.
He also says he introduced facility of online registration of applications, facility to check the status of the application and had proposed that all the agents must be registered.
He had no powers to clear any film on his own, he says, adding it is the examining committee which decides the fate of the film by majority view.
The court had yesterday granted bail to two agents who were arrested earlier in the case.

You’ve hit your limit of 5 free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.

Already subscribed? Log in

Subscribe to read the full story →
Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online

  • Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Aug 26 2014 | 10:10 PM IST

1 out of 5 articles left

Subscribe to read without limits
Subscribe Now