Bhandarkar gets off the hook in rape case

Bollywood film director Madhur Bhandarkar on Monday got a new lease of life after the Sup­reme Court quashed the criminal proceedings initiated aga­i­nst him on allegations of rape levelled by actor Priti Jain.

A bench of Justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad provided the major relief to him after noting the victim was not interested in pursuing the case.

The court also pointed out that the Mumbai police had already given a clean chit to Bhandarkar. The 46-year-old has given Hindi film hits like “Chandni Bar,” “Page 3,” “Traffic Signal” and “Fashion.”

The apex court’s order came on a special leave petition filed by film director challenging the Bombay High Court’s order.

The High Court in its order in March upheld the decision by a magisterial court to continue with the prosecution of Bhandarkar.

Jain, then an up-and-coming actor had lodged a complaint with the Mumbai’s Versova police station in July 2004 alleging that Bhandarkar had rap­ed her 16 times between 1999 and 2004 on the pretext of casting her as actor in his fil­ms.

She further alleged the film director, who promised to marry her, failed to keep his word.
The Mumbai police, however, filed an investigation report in September 2011, terming the allegations levelled by Jain false.

The trial court, however, had found substance in the complaint and decided to proceed against Bhandarkar.