FIR

Actor Priya moves SC seeking quashing of FIR against her

Feb 192018

priya case

Actress Priya Prakash Varrier, who stole the heart of the nation with her cute antics in a song of an upcoming Malyalam movie, on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the FIRs against her and the director of the film for hurting religious sentiments of Muslims.

The actress, film director Omar Lulu and others sought an ex-parte stay on the FIR and police complaints, and also appropriate orders restraining other states from registering such FIRs.

Some Muslim activists had lodged an FIR against the team of “Oru Adaar Love” in Hyderabad under Section 295A (hurting religious sentiments) of the Indian Penal Code on February 14.

A group in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad also filed a police complaint against Varrier and Lulu on the same grounds.

On Monday, Varrier’s counsel Pallavi Pratap told the apex court that the criminal complaints instituted by “various fringe groups” are based on a “distorted and incorrect interpretation of the song”.

“The claims that it hurts the religious sentiments of the Muslim community are without any basis,” it said.

Stressing that an amount of Rs 1.5 crore has been spent on the movie, the plea said “such flimsy and baseless complaints and FIRs cause nothing but hindrance in freedom of speech”.

The contentious scene where Varrier winks at a boy features the Mappila lyrics — a traditional Muslim song from the Malabar region of Kerala — that celebrate the love between Prophet Mohammed and his first wife Khadija.

The complainants have primarily objected to the use of Mappila as background music in the flirting scene.

However, the petition said it was “hard to fathom” that a song which has been in existence “for the past 40 years… was cherished by the Muslim community in Kerala is now being treated as an insult… it cannot suddenly offend the religious sentiment of the Muslim community”.

The plea said that the fringe elements have “misunderstood” the lyrics of the song.

“Filing of criminal complaints and registration of FIRs by the police in multiple states on the basis of complaints by fringe elements… has adversely affected the petitioners’ right to life, liberty and freedom of expression.

“…the legality of the content of the film and the certification on the same can only be dealt with under law by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC),” it said.

Citing the apex court’s order on November 16, 2017 that a film or a drama or a novel or a book is a creation of art, the plea said these complaints were contrary to the order.

The Supreme Court has observed earlier that an artist has freedom to express himself and a thought-provoking film “should never mean that it has to be didactic or in any way puritanical”.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

TV actress Sanjeeda Sheikh accused of beating her sister-in-law

Celebrities

Sep 012017

TV actress Sanjeeda Sheikh accused of beating her sister-in-law Sanjeeda Sheikh. Picture courtesy: Sanjeeda Sheikh’s Instagram account @iamsanjeeda

Television’s popular actress Sanjeeda Sheikh has fallen into a legal trouble.

Reportedly, Sanjeeda’s 22-year-old sister-in-law Zakerabanu Zakir Hussain Bagban has registered a domestic violence case against her and her maternal family, which includes Sanjeeda’s brother Anas Abdul Rahim Sheikh and mother Anisha Sheikh.

The actress’ sister-in-law Zakerabanu alleges that while conversing with her father over the phone on May 27, the trio – Sanjeeda, her brother and mother – began to yell and beat her.

On the day of the incident itself, Zakerabanu flew to her hometown in Ahmedabad and was admitted to a local hospital in Sarkhej Roza. It was on May 29 that Zakerabanu lodged an FIR at Sarkhej Police Station, suggests Mumbai Mirror report.

Sanjeeda Sheikh‘s lawyer immediately filed a petition seeking to suppress Zakerabanu’s complaint.

The tabloid further states that Sanjeeda’s lawyer counter-alleged saying that Zakerabanu had a disturbed relationship with her father owing to his orthodox mentality, which majorly hampered her equation with husband, Anas, and made it problematic for her to adapt the open-minded atmosphere at her husband’s house.

Also see: Dark side of Bollywood: 11 shocking abusive relationships

The report also adds that on the day of the alleged incident, Sanjeeda’s sister-in-law brought to Anas’ notice that she was under the weather and had quit her training from a make-up institute in order to meet her parents at Ahmedabad.

Sanjeeda was amidst her daily soap shooting when the case was filed against her and her family.

Fresh developments in the case on August 30 brought interim relief for Sanjeeda as the Ahmedabad High Court waived the service of notice.

“The Hon’ble Court has passed an order in favour of my client by stating that the investigating agency should not take any coercive steps against her. In other words, the Hon’ble Court accepted our submission that the FIR is baseless, bad in jurisdiction and merely filed to harass my client,” informed Sanjeeda’s lawyer to Mirror.

Sanjeeda Sheikh started her TV career with ‘Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa’. She gained fame for her role in shows like ‘Ishq Ka Rang Safed’ and ‘Ek Hasina Thi’.

Also see: Ganesh Chaturthi: These celebs got ‘Ganpati Bappa’ home

Trending Video

Watch video: Riya Sen’s shocking controversies: MMS scandal to smooching a girl

Download the new mid-day android app to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go https://goo.gl/8Xlcvr

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

How Remo D'Souza saved Akshay Kumar's 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha'

Celebrities

Jul 212017

Remo D'Souza Remo D’Souza

Remember how the makers of Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) kept the nation’s most-guarded secret – why Katappa killed Baahubali – under wraps till the second instalment of the film hit the screens? Maybe the edit team of Akshay Kumar’s next, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, needs to borrow this strategy to keep the film safe until its release. Recently, choreographer-filmmaker Remo D’Souza, who was at his gym, stumbled across a pen drive, containing Kumar’s entire film, which is set to hit the screens on August 11.

D’Souza told mid-day, “My gym trainer found a pen drive at the studio and asked me to have a look at it. I was shocked to find that it had the entire raw footage of the film. I made sure he didn’t pass on the copy to anyone. Neither did I let him watch it. Prerna [Arora of KriArj Entertainment; film’s production company] is a friend and I gave the pen drive to her. I am a filmmaker and as part of the fraternity, I understand a leak could have lasting monetary repercussions. The film’s business would have been massively affected. I just did whatever I could, in my capacity.”

Meanwhile, the producers are being extra careful and have also lodged a complaint with the crime branch to get hold of the culprit. “An internal enquiry has been set up. The matter cannot be taken lightly. So far, the investigation doesn’t suggest any malicious activity, but Neeraj Pandey [co-producer] doesn’t want to take any risks. He will keep the editing job between him and his most trusted men henceforth, to avoid such a situation in the future,” says a source.

Initially, no official complaint was filed, but on Wednesday, under the direction of a supervising cop, who was looking into the matter, an FIR was registered. “The pen drive containing the film is now with the police,” says the source.

Trending Videos

Watch Video: Python stopped from swallowing a whole deer

Download the new mid-day android app to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go https://goo.gl/8Xlcvr

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Ponty shootout case: Delhi BJP seeks inclusion of Congress ministers’ names in FIR as co-accused

News

Dec 152012

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP ) on Friday demanded that Delhi ministers Arvinder Singh Lovely and Haroon Yusuf be named as co-accused in the FIR registered in the Chhatarpur farmhouse shootout, which killed businessman Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep Singh, last month.

The party also demanded a judicial inquiry into the links of Lovely and Yusuf with Hardeep.

Two days after a MAIL TODAY investigation revealed the details of the telephonic communication between Hardeep and the two ministers on the day of the shootout and before that, the BJP upped the ante against the Delhi Congress, demanding the immediate resignation of the two cabinet ministers.

Four BJP MLAs flashed copies of the report in the assembly on Friday and sought a discussion on the issue.

“It is a serious issue and we have to know what links the two ministers had with Ponty and Hardeep Chadha. This matter is more important. Other issues can be discussed later,” Sat Prakash Rana, BJP MLA from Bijwasan, said.

“The call records show that the two ministers were constantly in touch with Hardeep. We doubt that Hardeep’s company had got a contract for cluster buses from the transport department because of his equation with the ministers,” said Sunil Vaidya, BJP MLA from Trilokpuri, who raised the issue in the Assembly along with Moti Nagar MLA Subhash Sachdeva and Dwarka legislator Pradyuman Rajput.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit refrained from commenting on the case. “I can’t launch an investigation into the matter. The investigation agencies are doing their job,” she said.

Demanding police action against the two ministers, state BJP president Vijender Gupta said, “They (Lovely and Yusuf) are protecting the criminals. They should be named as coaccused in the FIR.”

Gupta claimed that both the central and the Delhi government were pressurising the city Police not to interrogate Lovely and Yusuf regarding the shootout.

“Hardeep and Lovely exchanged five calls every day and even conversed minutes before the shootout. It has to be investigated. Amit Shah was interrogated by the Gujarat Police when he had exchanged only two calls,” Gupta said.

“They are part of the episode that took place at Chhatarpur on November 17 (shootout) and police should dig out the truth. We would fight till the end to unravel the truth,” Gupta added.

According to Gupta, the government tried to suppress the case but it failed because the ‘vigilant media’ exposed the entire conspiracy. He further cautioned that if both the ministers continue to hold their positions they might destroy the proof and threaten, witnesses and hamper impartial enquiry.

The BJP would raise the issue in Parliament on Monday. To build more pressure on the Delhi government, the Opposition party will organise protests at Azad Nagar Chowk and Bara Hindu Rao on Saturday.

Namdhari plea rejected

Sacked Uttarakhand minorities panel chief S.S. Namdhari’s plea for a separate vehicle to transport him from jail to the court on account of an alleged threat to his life was rejected by a Delhi court.

Sukhdev Singh Namdhari

Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, a prime accused in Ponty shootout case

Namdhari, prime accused in liquor baron Ponty Chadha’s shootout case, has been lodged in jail in connection with killing Ponty’s brother Hardeep.

The plea was moved by Namdhari on Thursday, when he was produced before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Rao on the expiry of his judicial custody.

Namdhari’s counsel said other under-trials attacked and injured his client on Thursday, when he was being brought to the court.

The court had on Thursday remanded Namdhari and his personal security officer Sachin Tyagi to judicial custody till December 27.

Ponty and Hardeep, who had an ongoing property dispute, were killed in a shootout at their Chhatarpur farmhouse here on November 17 afternoon, since then the police have arrested 10 people including Tyagi and Namdhari in various criminal cases linked to the incident.

The police have booked Namdhari on charges of murder. The police told the court that from the probe, it has been established that Namdhari played a vital role in the conspiracy with other co- accused, who acted on his orders.

Meanwhile, the court sent Simranjeet Singh and Jagbir Singh, members of Namdhari’s Khalsa Sena, to police custody till December 18. It is alleged that both of them helped Namdhari and Ponty gain access to the Chhatarpur farmhouse and forcibly occupy it.