Mumbai: There is good news for Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah actor Munmun Dutta as the Supreme Court stayed the five FIRs registered against her in different parts of India. Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramaniam issued a notice on Munmun Dutta’s plea to club and consolidate the five FIRs. The SC on Friday said: “What you said may amount to bringing an entire community into disrepute”. The SC stayed the criminal proceedings against the actor Munmun Dutta for allegedly using a casteist slur. Five FIRs were filed against Munmun Dutta under Section 3(1)(u) Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocites) Act.
The bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and V. Ramasubramanian said: “You say you are a woman but tell us if women have any better rights than men or they also have equal rights?” Senior advocate Puneet Bali, representing Dutta, argued that in the video posted on a social media platform last month, Dutta did not use the word ‘Bhangi’ intentionally and the word was used in West Bengal to refer to those who took intoxicants. The bench replied that was not true. “You may not be informed. Everyone knows the meaning. Same word is used in Bangla. She was in Kolkata when she said this,” noted the top court.
The advocate acknowledged Munmun Dutta made a mistake and deleted her Twitter post within two hours of posting the video. Bali argued that the top court in several cases clubbed FIRs arising out of the same incident and urged all cases should be shifted to Mumbai. The top court issued notice to state governments and complainants, after hearing Dutta’s counsel that the FIRs lodged in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana, should be clubbed.
The actor had triggered outrage with a YouTube video, leading to the lodging of FIRs under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Later, Dutta tendered an apology and took down the offensive part of the video. She said she used the word because of the language barrier. Bali contended before the bench that the petitioner was a woman and five FIRs had been lodged against her. However, finally, the top court agreed to examine her plea and stayed the proceedings in the FIRs.
The top court also issued a notice to Dalit rights activist and lawyer who got the first FIR registered against the actor in Haryana’s Hisar on May 13. The FIR was filed under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly humiliating the community.
Munmun Dutta had apologized in a long social media post. She shared an official statement that reads, “This is in reference to a video I posted yesterday wherein one word used by me has been misinterpreted. It was never said with the intent of insult, intimidate, humiliate or hurt anyone’s feelings. Because of my language barrier, I was genuinely misinformed about the meaning of the word. Once I was made aware of it meaning I immediately took the part down. I sincerely would like to apologise to every single person who have been unintentionally hurt by the usage of the word and I sincerely regret for the same (sic).”
Meanwhile, Munmun Dutta is popularly known as BabitaJi from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.
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