Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 14 (IANS) A city court has issued a notice to a private TV channel here for showing a “derogatory” video of model-turned-actor Jhanvi Kapoor, who came into limelight after attempting suicide when Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan married Aishwarya Rai last year. Metropolitan Magistrate Sameer Bajpai last week summoned chairman and editor-in-chief of India TV Rajat Sharma to appear before the court July 15.

Channel’s chief executive officer Chintamani Rao, senior correspondent Sayden Zaidi and news anchor Saurabh Sharma have also been summoned.

Kapoor had alleged that the news channel May 5, 2007 showed a morphed and forged video clipping showing two women roaming around with bare minimum clothes in a house.

The news channel had alleged one of the women was the same who associated herself with Bachchan and the other was her sister.

It alleged the two were involved in making porn films. The video was telecast for half an hour all over India and abroad.

“The original video contains a routine recording at my home with my sister and is extremely personal and private possession. Nobody has the right to show my personal video,” Kapoor told IANS.

She said the telecast of the video was to defame and tarnish her and her family’s reputation.

“The telecast of the false video tarnished the reputation and image of me and my family,” Kapoor said.

The TV channel had also alleged she was a drug addict.

Kapoor grabbed media attention when Bachchan married Aishwarya last year. She slit her left arm outside Bachchan’s bungalow Prateeksha in Mumbai, claiming the Bollywood actor had promised to marry her and even applied ’sindoor’ on her forehead.

The magistrate has seen the video and said: “In the video the complainant is wearing an underwear and a shirt and is working in the kitchen, and from this scene it cannot be concluded that the complainant is involved in the making of blue films”.

“The way the complainant is working in the kitchen is quite normal and anybody in his/her personal life can do so,” the magistrate observed.

“By telecasting such video and showing the complainant to have been involved in making blue films is derogatory and highly contemptuous. The act is more serious when the question is of the dignity of a lady,” the magistrate noted.

The court has prima-facie found the offence punishable under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.