The Punjab & Haryana High Court temporarily stopped police notices issued to Raveena Tandon, Farah Khan, and Bharti Singh over comments allegedly hurting Christian sentiments. The next hearing is scheduled for July 14.
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CHANDIGARH: The Punjab & Haryana High Court put a hold on the police notices that were issued to Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon, filmmaker Farah Khan, and comedian Bharti Singh. These notices were related to a case that accused the trio of hurting the religious feelings of the Christian community.
Justice Manisha Batra passed this order on April 25 in response to a petition that sought the cancellation of the First Information Report (FIR) filed against them for comments made during a web show in 2019.
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At the time the case was being heard, which was during the final stage of arguments, the police had started issuing notices to the accused under Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), calling them to join the investigation.
The High Court said,
“At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner(s) submitted that the respondents have started issuing notices under Section 35 of BNS calling upon them to join investigation. Till the next date of hearing, no such steps shall be taken by the respondents.”
The issue began when Farah Khan hosted a show named Backbenchers on Flipkart, where she invited celebrities to play general knowledge games. The complainants took issue with comments made during an episode that aired on November 30, 2019.
The main allegation was that the accused had hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian community by comparing the word “Hallelujah” with a vulgar word.
However, the accused have argued that nothing in the show was intended to insult the Christian community. They also claimed that any offense would have to be “deliberate and malicious,” as stated by their lawyer.
The High Court had earlier, in 2022, stopped the police from taking any harsh actions against Raveena Tandon, Farah Khan, and Bharti Singh after they asked for the case to be dismissed. This temporary order has now been extended until July 14, the next date for hearing.
Lawyers representing Raveena Tandon, Farah Khan, Bharti Singh, and others include Abhinav Sood, Jay K Bhaardawaj, Anmol Gupta, Mehndi Singhal, Sayyam Garg, and Arsh Bir Bhatti.
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart, is being represented by Senior Advocate Akshay Bhan along with lawyers Ishan Kshetarpal and Harsh Gupta.
Advocate Himani Arora is representing the State of Punjab, while Advocate Gaurav Garg Dhuriwala is representing the complainant.
CASE TITLE:
Raveena Tandon and Another vs State of Punjab and Another
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