Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Monday fined a legislator Rs.10,000 for not filing a reply on “Delhi-6″ director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s plea for quashing the former’s police complaint against the film.

Congress legislator Jai Kishan said in his police complaint March 7, 2009 that the film had insulted the Valmiki community.

Justice Ajit Bharihoke said: “MLA Jai Kishan of Sultanpur Majra (north Delhi) will deposit Rs.10,000 with the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee” by Aug 25.

Mehra approached the court for quashing the first information report (FIR) lodged against him and the production house (UTV Motion Pictures Mauritius Ltd.) under various provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Protection of Civil Rights Act.

The FIR was lodged by Jai Kishan in Mandir Marg police station in central Delhi here.

The Valmiki Samaj of Delhi was up in arms against certain dialogues involving the character of untouchable sweeper girl Jalebi, played by Divya Dutta. The dialogues allegedly contained “objectionable words”, the legislator said in his police complaint.

At the time when the film was released, protesters demonstrated outside the Valmiki Mandir at Panchkuian Road demanding that an objectionable word be removed from the dialogues.

The film insulted the community by depicting the role of a sweeper girl who was shown belonging to the community, the FIR said.

Counsel appearing for Mehra said that the registration of the FIR and the consequent investigation carried out by police was abuse of the law because of the fact that approval was granted to the film by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

“The film gave an ‘unambiguous’ positive message to the society about the social evil and did not portray the community in poor light,” counsel for Mehra said.

He said the movie was seen and cleared by the CBFC, ministry of information and broadcasting and it was also shown to members of a national commission for Dalits before it hit the theatres.