Supreme Court stays proceedings in 6 cases against Salman Khan filed in different courts across the country. The actor had allegedly made comments against Valmiki Community. The Court will hear if FIR against him will be quashed or not. Next date of hearing 23 July.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra considered the submission of senior advocate N K Kaul, representing Khan, that the proceedings be stayed.
The senior advocate said that some criminal cases were lodged against the actor at Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai. The bench asked Kaul to provide the details of the cases pending against Khan and ordered that proceedings in those matters shall remain stayed.
While promoting his latest release “Tiger Zinda Hai” on a popular entertainment channel, Salman said, “I look like a ‘Bhangi’Â doing this step”, drawing comparisons between his inability to dance to one of the backward castes in India.
On another occasion, another Bollywood face Shilpa Shetty has been slapped a case after she used the ‘bhangi’ word referring to her style of dressing at home. She used the word during an interaction with paparazzi.
On both accounts, Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty have a legal case against them by the Valmiki Community citing “word hurt people’s sentiments”. They have lodged a police complaint against Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty Kundra and urged strict action against the film stars.
A copy of the registered complaint by the Valmiki Samaj Action Committee Delhi has been shared on their Facebook page.
“I recently saw content on social media in which Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty uttered casteist remarks in which they insulted the Valmiki community. My community’s sentiments are hurt by their remarks. Kindly initiate action against Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty under the sections of the Atrocity Act,” reads the memorandum signed by Kirankumar Solanki, national president of Valmiki Swaraj Abhiyan, and Ishwar Solanki, president of the All Gujarat Rushi Samaj Sena.
The use of the term ‘bhangi’ in an inappropriate way has apparently irked the Valmiki community who had lodged a police complaint and sought action against the film stars.
