Court quashes cases against Shilpa Shetty, Reema Sen : Happenings News : ApunKaChoice.Com


ApunKaChoice.Com	IndiaExpress.Com CricketZone.Com

RSS

HOME | SCOOP!! & NEWS | HAPPENINGS

Court quashes cases against Shilpa Shetty, Reema Sen
24th Apr 2008 09.00 IST
By Agencies

The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court Wednesday quashed criminal cases against Bollywood actresses Shilpa Shetty and Reema Sen who were accused of having conniving with a Tamil eveninger to publish their obscene pictures.

Closing a petition filed by the actresses seeking to quash the cases, Justice S.Nagamuthu said the materials available on record did not make out "any case" against them.

Allowing the proceedings to continue further against the petitioners would be a wasteful exercise involving public money, precious time of the court and amounting to abusing the process of law, the judge said.

The judge, however, made it clear that the city magistrate court, where the cases were filed, may proceed with the trial against the first accused, editor of the eveninger in accordance with law, saying it was for the trial court to decide whether pictures of Shilpa Shetty and Reema Sen published in the eveninger would fall within the definition of "obscenity or not". The said question is left open for the trial court to decide."

T.Dakshinamurthy, a Madurai city advocate in a case filed at a city Judicial magistrate court, said the eveninger "Tamil Murasu" carried the pictures of the actresses which he claimed were "obscene and lascivious."

Dakshinamurthy said the publication of such pictures would only help in promotion of crimes against women and lead to unhealthy social trends.

On taking cognizance, the judicial magistrate recorded the statements of the advocate (complainant) and two witnesses and issued summons to the actresses followed by issuance of non-bailable warrants against them.

The plea to cancel the NBWs was dismissed after which the actresses filed a petition in the High Court to quash the cases against them.

Justice Nagamuthu said though he could not appreciate the failure of the actresses to respond to the non-bailable warrants, their plea that the case against them was baseless and it was abuse of process of law needed to be considered.

He said that in this case, admittedly, the person who published the newspaper was the first accused and there was no material whatsoever on record even to make out a prima facie case that the petitioners (actresses) were responsible for the printing of their pictures.

He also dismissed the contention of the complainant that the pictures of the actresses had been published with their connivance as a "vague allegation."

For issuing summons, the court had to look into not only content of the complaints but also the statement of witnesses recorded.

The actresses were charged under IPC sections 292(2) (sale of obscene literature) read with sections 3,4 and 6 of the Indecent Representation Of Women (Prohibition) Act.

Related
Shilpa Shetty
Reema Sen