Rajasthan HC quashes FIR against Shilpa Shetty under SC/ST Act

Jaipur: Giving relief to Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, the Rajasthan High Court on Thursday quashed a criminal case registered against her under the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Churu Kotwali in December 2017.

Shetty was booked on a complaint alleging that she had used the word "Bhangi" in a 2013 TV interview in which actor Salman Khan was also present.

A complaint was made to police alleging that the use of the word had allegedly hurt the sentiments of the Valmiki community.

Shetty moved the High Court seeking quashing of the case. It was stated in court that Ashok Panwar had lodged a police complaint alleging that he saw an interview of two film actors i.e. Salman Khan and Shilpa Raj Kundra (petitioner herein) on T.V., wherein they used the word "Bhangi" and the word allegedly hurt the sentiments of the people belonging to the Valmiki community.

On the basis of the complaint, an FIR was registered and an investigation was launched.

Counsel for the petitioner argued that, admittedly, the purported interview resulting in the impugned FIR was recorded in 2013, whereas, the FIR was belatedly lodged on December 22, 2017, i.e. after more than 3 years.

It was argued that the SC/ST Act also does not apply, as the alleged remarks lack intent to humiliate based on caste. It is thus contended that the FIR is legally untenable and constitutes an abuse of process.

Accordingly, the court held that there were no allegations against the petitioner that merited continuation of the present complaint and quashed the case.

"The contents of the FIR above show that there is neither any evidence nor any malicious intent and nor any means to commit any offence, as alleged. There is no indication in the FIR or accompanying evidence that the accused intended to demean or insult the Valmiki community. At the most, their interview statements, which appear to have been made casually, are being interpreted and taken totally out of context. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act requires that the accused must act with a specific intent to humiliate, insult, or harm members of the SC/ST community," the order said.