Rakhi Sawant moves Bombay High Court to quash FIR in outraging of modesty case filed by model

Model-celebrity Rakhi Sawant has approached the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of a defamation and outraging of modesty case filed against her by another model..Sawant claimed in the petition that the complainant filed a false first information report (FIR) against Sawant driven by a desire for revenge."The false accusations and defamatory statements made by the complainant not only cause personal distress but also ruin Sawant's once successful career. It is evident that the complainant holds a grudge and filed the false FIR as an act of revenge," Sawant claimed in the petition filed through advocate Ali Kaashif Khan..The model filed a complaint alleging that on October 31, 2022, Sawant had shown some videos of the complainant and made defamatory statements. The complainant also claimed that the video shown to the media was sexually explicit. Sawant was booked for offences under Sections 354(A) (outraging modesty of a woman), 500 (defamation), 504 (criminal intimidation), 509 (intent of provoking breach) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with Section 67(A) of the Information and Technology Act (IT Act)..Sawant claimed that without going into the merits of the matter, a careful examination of the FIR would indicate that the allegations are not genuine. She also added that Sawant and the complainant had amicably resolved all disputes; however pendency of the FIR was nothing but a tactic by the complainant to waste the time of the court. Sawant claimed in the petition that the offence of outraging modesty under Section 354A of IPC cannot be invoked against a woman as it was only applicable against men. .Sawant, therefore, prayed that the FIR and the chargesheet filed on October 18 be quashed.