The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted protection from arrest for three weeks to Marathi actor and director Mahesh Manjrekar and producers of the film Varan Bhaat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha in a case involving obscene scenes against minors.
A division bench of justices PB Varale and SP Tavade was hearing a criminal petition filed by Mr Manjrekar and others seeking to quash a FIR against them filed on February 24 under provision of the Indian Penal Code, The Indecent Representation of Women, Section 13 which pertains to use of children for pornographic purposes of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the Information Technology Act. The plea mentioned that the FIR involves a trailer of the film which has been taken down from all social media platforms and that the film does not contain any pornographic material or objectionable scene involving a child.
The bench issued notice to the State and directed a reply to be filed after three weeks and said no coercive steps to be taken till then.
The case dates back to January 25, when an application was filed before the special POCSO court by Seema Deshpande, city president of NGO Bharatiya Stree Shakti known for representing issues concerning women and children. The application sought a direction to the local police to register a FIR against the producers and director of the film. Soon thereafter the court directed for the registration of FIR which the petitioners sought to quash before the High Court.
The scene in question as explained is the application shows teenage children quietly washing their hands of blood and three bodies lying there. "The same boys are seen in another scene, one of them asking who killed them. From this, it can be gathered that the children are cold-blooded murderers and even after committing gruesome murder, they did not show any remorse."
