HC quashes FIR in MLA sextortion case

Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday quashed the FIR against Kukesh Rauta, who was accused of sextorting money from Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira by morphing the legislator’s face in an obscene video.
The high court imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Rauta as a deterrent. The money is to be deposited into the police welfare fund, the court said.
Rauta, represented by senior advocate Nitin Sardessai with advocate Siddharth Nunes, went to the high court stating that he and Ferreira have amicably settled their differences.
He submitted that the FIR arose out of a misunderstanding between them and that he apologised unconditionally and repaid the money that Ferreira paid him.
The MLA accepted his apology and consented to mutually putting an end to the present criminal proceedings, Rauta submitted to the high court.
Rauta stated that he repaid Rs 55,000 referred to in the FIR.
Based on a complaint filed by Ferreira, the crime branch on Dec 2, 2024, registered an FIR against Rauta for sextortion and under various sections of the Information and Technology Act 2000.