Munmun Kaur
Published On:- February 26, 2022 at 11:20 IST
The Bombay High Court on February 25, refused to grant any protection to filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar from Arrest or any coercive action in a matter related to showing obscene scenes involving minors in a Marathi movie.
The decision came in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Manjrekar in the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of a Case filed against him under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He further sought interim protection from the Arrest.
First Information Report (FIR) was lodged by the Mumbai Police against Manjrekar and other filmmakers “Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha”. The Case was filed under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Shirish Gupte, the Counsel appearing for Manjrekar argued that the scenes shown in the trailer were never part of the actual film. Also, the trailer was ultimately removed from YouTube. He further argued nothing really happened to the boys and the movie was merely a creation of art.
On the other hand, Assistant public prosecutors Madhvi Mhatre and Sangeeta Shinde while opposing the Petition pointed out that the FIR lodged at Mahim police station makes out some serious allegations against the Accused under the POCSO Act.
A Division Bench headed by Justice SS Shinde hearing the matter refused to grant Blanket Protection and adjourned the hearing to February 28.
As per the sources, the recently released film contains sexually explicit content involving minors.
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