Genus Of The Problem Is Your Endeavours To Click Photographs: Supreme Court Junks Journalist’s Plea Against Salman Khan
The Supreme Court on Friday, refused to entertain a Special Leave Petition challenging an order of the Bombay High Court, where it had quashed criminal proceedings against actor, Salman Khan for offences under Section 504 and 506 IPC. The plea was preferred by a journalist, Ashok Shyamlal Pandey, alleging that he was insulted and abused by the actor for taking his photographs, despite obtaining prior consent from his bodyguard.
It is to be noted that the actor and his bodyguard had approached the High Court against an order passed by the Metropolitan Magistrate, Andheri, Mumbai, where it had issued summons against them for the alleged offences.
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia heard the matter.
At the outset, Justice Kaul while questioning the consent so obtained and the nature, asked how someone sitting at the pillion could consent to take pictures of the actor who was riding the bike.
On that, the counsel for the petitioner then submitted that the High Court was not justified to exercise the power under Section 482 CrPC.
“The High Court has exercised it, it is not under (Article) 136. We will not be justified under (Article) 136 now to go into why (Section) 482 was exercised”, Justice Kaul said.
Adding further, Justice Kaul remarked, “These are sometimes extra publicity issues…because a personality is involved. How can you get consent? The film star is riding the bike, the security person is sitting at the pillion…”. To which, the counsel intervened to say that Khan was riding a bi-cycle.
“You say you obtained his consent to take photographs, that is the genus of the problem. Your endeavors to click the photographs created the problem. Then he tried go retrieve the photographs and not let you click”, Justice Kaul said.
“But does that give him a license to abuse”, the counsel asked.
“Certainly, but it gives you license to do everything?”, in turn, Justice Kaul asked.
For the background, the journalist filed a complaint alleging that while he was trying to click Salman Khan’s pictures, the actor snatched his phone and even deleted the photographs.
A bench of Justice Bharati Dangre of the Bombay High Court, however, while quashing the trial court’s order held that the order could not be sustained as the Magistrate surpassed the procedure by not complying with Section 200 CrPC. Therefore, the Court noted that the order suffered from serious infraction of procedure to be adopted by a Magistrate.
It had further observed, “The judicial process need not be a means for needless harassment merely because the accused is a well-known celebrity and without adhering to the procedure of law, he shall not be subjected to unnecessary oppression at the hands of a complainant, who set in the machinery into motion to satisfy his vendetta and assumed that he was insulted by the cine star”.
Cause Title: Ashok Shyamlal Pandey v Salman Khan@Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan
