Mumbai: The MHB police have registered a case against 'Alt Balaji Telefilm', Ekta Kapoor, and Shobha Kapoor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act following a Borivali court order. The case, filed on October 18, alleges that it pertains to obscene scenes involving minors in three web series telecasts on www.altbalaji.com. The series telecast in 2021, that time Ekta Kapoor was managing director and Shobha Kapoor was chairperson of 'Alt Balaji Telefilm'
About The Case
According to the FIR, a 30-year-old yoga instructor from Borivali filed the complaint with the MHB police station in 2021 and later approached the Borivali court. The FIR alleges that minors were used for obscene filming in the web series 'Class of 2017' and 'Class of 2020' and 'Gandi baat' on Alt Balaji Telefilm.
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In the 'Class of 2017' web series, a free episode featured a scene involving two minors with objectionable content and obscene dialogue. The complainant alleges this constitutes soft pornography and objects to the scenes and dialogues. Additionally, a scene depicts a woman smoking without displaying the mandatory warning "Smoking is injurious to health" on screen. The complainant further alleges that the producers are insensitive.
The 'Class of 2020' web series, targeted at youth on Balaji's website, portrays scenes involving 16-year-old minors. This series also contains obscene scenes, including a highly objectionable "chingum" scene between two minors and another scene featuring a boy in a school uniform engaging in objectionable behaviour. Similarly, the 'Gandi Baat' series features comparable content, living up to its name.
Details In The FIR
According to the FIR, the website promotes obscene and objectionable content alongside spiritual material, employing cheap and illegal publicity tactics. Notably, the complainant had also approached the Child Rights Commission in 2021.
Police Invokes Charges Including POCSO Sections
The police have invoked various charges, including The POCSO Act sections 13 (use of child for pornographic purposes) and 15 (punishment for storage of pornographic material involving child). The Information Technology Prevention Act section 67(a).The Women Prohibition Act section 292 (indecent representation of women).
The IPC sections 293 (sale of obscene objects to young persons) and 295(a) (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings). The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Advertisement Act section 5. The police are investigating the matter. However, Alt Balaji Telefilm has not released a statement yet.
