It has been a while since the Shilpa Shetty case had made news; but that was before this blog was launched. It is nevertheless pertinent to do a brief recap. For the case may or may not have ended, but it is for sure not going to be the last of these lathicharges by the moral policemen.
Arrest warrants were issued against Bollywood actresses Shilpa Shetty and Reema Sen for posing "obscene" for a Tamil eveninger Tamil Murasu. The City Judicial Magistrate, Elangovan, directed the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, to arrest the actresses as early as possible and produce them in court. [Link]
The court's direction was in response to a case filed by a Madurai-based advocate Dakshninammorthy recently accusing the actresses, and Murugan, editor of Tamil Murasu for publication of the "obscene" pictures. The advocate alleged the violation of laws including Sec 109 of IPC (Indecent representation of women), Prevention of Publication of Obscene pictures Act and Sec 3 of the Young persons (Harmful publications) Act. (Sic)
Shetty rushed to the National Women's Commission (NCW) for help. NCW chairperson Girija Vyas described the case as "misdirected" and said, "When the Censor Board has cleared her film for public viewing, where does the question of obscenity arise?" [Link]
The picture is a still from Shilpa's Kannada film Auto Shankar that has been approved by the Censor Board, the actress's spokesperson, Dale Bhagwagar, submitted a memorandum to the NCW.
Sen told the Times of India, "The legal system should take up bigger and better social issues like protecting women's rights, rather than targeting celebs. The advocate who filed the petition against us is a publicity-hungry man." She did concede that "actresses have to be decently dressed as they influence the public, but it doesn't give anybody the right to act as the moral police." [Link]
