Jaya Prada declared 'absconding' by court in poll code violation cases

Former MP and actress Jaya Prada has been declared "absconding" by a special court after she did not turn up for hearings in two cases against her.

The MP MLA special court, presided over by Shobhit Bansal, has now directed the Superintendent of Police to form a special team under a Deputy SP's leadership to ensure her presence in court by March 6.

This legal provision is invoked when an accused person fails to appear in court despite warrants, leading to a proclamation procedure to ensure their attendance.

The cases pertain to the violation of the election code of conduct during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where she was a candidate from the BJP.

Despite being issued non-bailable warrants seven times, Jaya Prada did not present herself before the court, leading to the MP MLA special court taking strong action against her.

Jaya Prada remains one of the most popular and influential actors in the Hindi and Telugu film industries. Later, she left the film industry and joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1994 and forayed into politics.

She became a Rajya Sabha MP and then a Lok Sabha MP. She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019.