The hearing in connection with a 2017 case over a controversial poster from Behen Hogi Teri was held on Wednesday in a Jalandhar court
Rajkummar Rao surrendered before the court on July 28
He was granted conditional bail
A long pending case related to a controversial poster of Rajkummar Rao's 2017 film Behen Hogi Teri, was heard recently in a Jalandhar court. Rao's advocate Darshan Singh Dayal, confirmed the actor didn't appear in the hearing, which was held on Wednesday (July 30). He surrendered before the court on Monday (July 28), after which he was granted conditional bail, reported ANI.
Rajkummar Rao granted bail in Behen Hogi Teri case
"The challan was presented in the court in the absence of the actor. Since the address in the summons was in Delhi, he was not informed about appearing in the court. Actually, the actor is living in Mumbai. On the other hand, Shruti Hassan was acquitted in the case after the court found her innocent. Ajay K Pannalal’s (director of the film) petition has been filed in the court," said the advocate.
The petition further stated that Rao merely played a character of Lord Shiva in a Jagran troupe, and this is a completely artistic presentation. There was no intention to hurt the religious sentiments of any community, said Darshan Singh Dayal.
Rao argued that Behen Hogi Teri had received a certification from Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which indicated that the content of the film was not legally objectionable. It also said that his freedom of expression was protected under Article 19(1)(a), the advocate stated.
What was the Behen Hogi Teri case?
Dayal shared details of Rajkummar Rao's Behen Hogi Teri controversy. He said that in 2017 a poster of Lord Shiva in the film sparked outrage among a section of people, following which a case was registered against Rao, his co-star Shruti Hassan, the producer, director and deputy director of the film.
An FIR was registered under Section 295A (act done with the intention of inciting religious sentiments), Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and Section 67 of the IT Act, due to which non-bailable warrants were also issued against the actor, shared the advocate.
For the unversed, in the controversial poster, Rao was dressed as Lord Shiva, wearing slippers and seated on a silver motorbike. He completed his look with a crescent moon, and rudraksh beads.
The poster was widely criticised for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Ishant Sharma, a Hindu leader and film producer, filed the case at Police Division No 5 in Jalandhar, as per reports.
In his complaint, Sharma claimed that Lord Shiva was depicted in a "disrespectful" manner in the film, which he said was offensive and hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus.
Director Ajay K Pannalal and producer Tony D'Souza were arrested in Mumbai on May 26, 2017, but later they were granted bail.
Reportedly, the censor board had advised the makers to remove a scene where Rao, dressed as Lord Shiva, falls off a bike, citing it could offend people. The film received a U/A certificate and had theatrical release on June 9, 2017, without any cuts.
