Karnataka High Court indicated it would pass orders on Ranveer Singh’s plea to quash the FIR after examining his apology affidavit, while accepting his undertaking to visit the Chamundi Hill deity in the Kantara mimicry row.
The Karnataka High Court said it would issue an order after reviewing the affidavit submitted by Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh in connection with objections raised over his apology.
Singh had already tendered an apology before the High Court and then filed an affidavit seeking to quash an FIR registered against him for allegedly insulting “Chavunda Daiva,” a deity from Dakshina Kannada district.
Hearing the case, Justice M Nagaprasanna observed that the actor’s conduct warranted admonition, which the court would address while disposing of the matter.
During the proceedings, arguments focused on the affidavit’s contents especially Singh’s statement about visiting a temple as part of his apology.
As presented in court, the affidavit says the actor would visit the Chamundi Temple in due course.
Counsel opposing the plea challenged the wording as unclear, stating that due course could be interpreted as anything from a few days to several years, and argued that a specific timeline should be provided.
In reply, the actor’s counsel said it was not possible to commit to an exact schedule because of security concerns, citing certain incidents.
However, the opposing side maintained that they had confidence in the Karnataka Police to ensure adequate security.
The dispute began after Singh’s remarks at the 55th IFFI. While praising actor-director Rishab Shetty’s performance in Kantara: Chapter 1, Singh described the Chamundi deity as a “female ghost” and imitated Shetty’s portrayal.
Following this, a criminal case was registered against Singh under Sections 196 (religious enmity), 299 (religious insult), and 302 (public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Singh then approached the High Court, arguing that he had no intention of hurting religious sentiments. He also said that he had already posted an unconditional apology on social media.
Later, he submitted an apology affidavit to the High Court and stated that he would visit Chamundi Hill to pray at the temple there as well.
At the most recent hearing, the lawyer for the complainant raised concerns about whether Singh’s apology affidavit was authentic.
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