Raveena Tandon, Farah Khan and others get temporary legal relief; here’s everything you need to know about case

Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon, filmmaker Farah Khan and more got relief in a case that was registered five years back. As per the case, they allegedly hurt religious sentiments. Now, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stated that they won’t be called anymore for the investigation. As per reports, the order will remain effective at least until July 14, when the case is scheduled to be heard next.

The decision came after the Justice Manisha Batra-led bench was informed that Punjab and other respondents had begun to issue notices under Section 35 of the BNS, calling them for further investigation in the case. The bench made their decision, saying, “Till the next date of hearing, no such step shall be taken by the respondent,” as quoted by The Tribune. 

A group of well-known legal professionals, including senior advocate Akshay Bhan and lawyers Abhinav Sood, Anmol Gupta, Mehndi Singhal, Sayyam Garg, Jay K. Bhaardawaj, Arsh Bir Bhatti, Ishan Kshetarpal, and Harsh Gupta, stepped in to defend the petitioners. The legal team said before the court that there was no real basis for invoking Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code, a law aimed at punishing deliberate acts meant to provoke religious outrage.

For the unversed, the case dates back to an FIR registered at Ajnala police station on December 25, 2019, accusing several stars, including comedian Bharti Singh, screenwriter Abbas Ajij Dalal, and Frames Production Company, apart from Raveena and Farah, of offending religious sentiments.

They were named in several FIRs filed in Punjab between 2019 and 2020. As per the Hindustan Times, lawyer Abhinav Sood shared that the controversy is about an episode of Farah Khan’s talk show Backbenchers, where celebrities were asked to spell and explain words. During the show, Bharti misspelled a word, which the petitioners argue led to a misunderstanding that wrongly portrayed her as making fun of a religion.

The legal team maintained that the claims made in these complaints were exaggerated and unfounded and there was no intention to hurt anyone’s religious beliefs. They argued that whatever happened in the show was not a punishable act under the law.

In reply to the petitions, the High Court had previously paused any arrest in connection with these FIRs. Later, new summonses were issued to some of those named, and they were asked to cooperate with the investigation. However, now, these too have been put on hold in a fresh order from the court. The next hearing will take place on July 14, as per the report.

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