'Gandi Baat': Case filed against filmmaker Ekta Kapoor for sexualising underage girls

 

A case has been filed against leading Indian filmmaker Ekta Kapoor and her mother Shobha Kapoor for allegedly 'sexualising underage girls' in the web series 'Gandi Baat'.

A Mumbai Police official told the Media that the web series on the online streaming platform 'AltBalaji' had violated several sections of the Indian Penal Code, Pasco (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) and the IT Act. There is blame.

This 'bold' series called 'Gandi Baat' is also accused of trying to spread religious hatred.

Police officer Kiran Sorse told the Media that the FIR was filed by a yoga instructor, Swapnel Revaji, after which the case was registered on the orders of a local court.

He refrained from giving a copy of the FIR but said that since Ekta Kapoor is the owner and director of Balaji Telefilms and her mother, the complaint has also been filed against them.

Balaji Films and Ekta Kapoor are yet to respond to the matter.

This is not the first complaint against Ekta Kapoor, daughter of the evergreen actor Jeetendra. Earlier, a series of complaints were filed against him in various states of India for insulting the Indian Army and its uniform.

According to a case registered under the Pasco Act, three episodes of a web series aired by Balaji allegedly featured minor girls and showed inappropriate scenes, police inspector Kiran Sorse said. are

The web series was presented on AltBalaji, a subscription-based on-demand video platform.

According to the police, the complainant has accused Balaji Films of using minor girls in their three web series 'Class of 2017', 'Class of 2020' and 'Gandi Baat' in which they were shown doing lewd acts. has gone

The film producers have been booked under sections 13 (use of children for obscene purposes) and 15 (storage of obscene material involving children) of the Indian Penal Code. Apart from this, Section 67A of the Technology Act (broadcasting obscene material in electronic form) and Section 292 of the Women's Prohibition Act, and Sections 293 and 295A of the IPC as well as the prohibition of advertisements for cigarettes and tobacco products. An FIR has been registered under the Act

The FIR registered in Mumbai further stated that between February and April 2021, a minor girl was also shown having lewd conversations with adults in the series.

It has objected that the web series featuring actors in school uniforms kissing could have a 'bad effect' on children.

According to Police Inspector Kiran Sorse, 'It allegedly contains a depiction of a minor girl with double meaning dialogues being invoked from her to make the scene sexy.'

Similarly, in 'Gandi Baat', there has been a complaint about showing a boy kissing a girl in school uniform.

He points out that 'a religious leader Shri Ravi Shankar has also been shown while freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose has also been shown, which is said to hurt religious and national sentiments.'

He added that 'it also showed smoking and as per the rule no official warning was shown with it.'

What punishments can Ekta Kapoor face?

The two sections in the case against Ekta Kapoor are considered serious offenses as they relate to sexual exploitation of children and therefore prescribe severe punishments.

Section 13 covers the use of children for obscene acts. It involves a person using a child to create pornographic material or engaging them in activities designed for sexual gratification.

Offenses related to child pornography and using them for obscene purposes carry a minimum of five years and a maximum of seven years in prison.

If a person keeps or collects child obscene material and does not destroy it or report it to an authority, he can be fined not less than Rs 5000.

If a person possesses child obscene material and intends to disseminate, broadcast, display or distribute the same, he can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both.

If a person possesses or collects child pornography for commercial purposes, the penalty for a first conviction is at least three years in prison.

Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deals with hurting religious sentiments. This section deals with any deliberate and malicious attempt by a person to insult the religion or religious beliefs of any class or to hurt his religious sentiments.

According to Section 295A, if a person intentionally insults any religion or religious belief, thereby hurting the religious sentiments of a religion or a section of its followers, he can be punished under this section.

A conviction under this section is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

Advocate Narendra Dubey said that if a person uses words derogatory to a religion, desecrates its symbols, or does something intended to hurt religious sentiments, that person can be punished under Section 295A. Punishment may be imposed.

Ekta Kapoor surrounded by controversies

Many people are reacting to this on social media in India.

Many users accused Ekta Kapoor of 'promoting obscenity' while many quipped that these are all mere allegations, otherwise why would Ekta have been awarded the Indian award 'Padma Shri'.

A user named Uday Mahurkar congratulated the Maharashtra government on X, writing that it is the first government in India to have 'shown political courage against those who destroy Indian society for easy money.'

Meanwhile, Rina N Singh, another user, wrote on X: 'There is a great need to set limits in this era of unlimited access to unlimited content that results in crimes against women and children.'

Similarly, many users are also criticizing the FIR registered against Ekta.

In 2020, he was accused of having several objectionable scenes involving the wives of army men in season 2 of his series 'Triple X'.

Harshikesh Pathak, the lawyer of the complainant Shambhu Kumar from the state of Bihar, said that the series came on an OTT platform called Alt Balaji. This OTT platform is associated with Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms Limited. Shobha Kapoor is also associated with Balaji Telefilms.

Ekta Kapoor was severely trolled on social media for the scene of an army officer's wife with her boyfriend in the series Triple X 2.

He was accused of insulting the Indian Army and its uniform through this web series. The debate on this issue intensified and people started demanding Ekta Kapoor's arrest.