The Punjab & Haryana High Court has stayed the police notices issued to Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon, filmmaker Farah Khan and comedian Bharti Singh in a case accusing them of hurting the religious sentiments of Christian community. .Justice Manisha Batra passed the order in a petition seeking quashing of the First Information Report (FIR) registered against the accused for their comments made during a web show in 2019.The case before the High Court was at the stage of final arguments when the notices under Section 35 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were issued to the accused."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 Court ordered on April 25..Khan had hosted a show called Backbenchers, released by Flipkart, where she invited celebrities and tested their general knowledge. The complainants had taken issue with comments made during an episode telecast on November 30, 2019.Essentially, the allegation against the accused was that they hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian community by comparing the word “Hallelujah” with a vulgar word.However, the accused have argued that there was nothing in the show to perceive that it was intended to hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian community. The hurt must be “deliberate and malicious”, the counsel representing them contended. .The High Court in 2022 had restrained the police from taking coercive steps against Tandon, Khan and Singh after they sought quashing of the case. The interim order has been extended till July 14, the next date of hearing. .Advocates Abhinav Sood, Jay K Bhaardawaj, Anmol Gupta, Mehndi Singhal, Sayyam Garg and Arsh Bir Bhatti represent Raveena Tandon, Farah Khan, Bharti Singh and others.Senior Advocate Akshay Bhan with advocates Ishan Kshetarpal and Harsh Gupta represent Kalyan Krishnamurthy (Flipkart CEO)Advocate Himani Arora represented the State of Punjab. Advocate Gaurav Garg Dhuriwala represented the complainant. .[Read Order]
