Actor Alok Nath has requested the Cine and Television Artistes Association (CINTAA) not to expel him until a court finds him guilty of the charges levelled against him.
The actor has been accused of rape and sexual harassment by writer Vinta Nanda as well as several other actresses.
Vinta Nanda has lodged a first information report (FIR) against the actor and also written to the National Commission for Women (NCW) regarding the case.
Alok Nath, in turn, has denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit for Re1 against Nanda.
In his reply to CINTAA, which had issued a notice to the actor after Nanda went public with her allegations, Alok Nath's counsel said he had been a 'respected' member of the film and television fraternity for a long time, and urged the association to wait until the judgment in the case arrives before deciding on his expulsion.
The Free Press Journal newspaper quoted actor Sushant Singh, president of CINTAA, as saying, "We are not saying we will not take any action against Alok. He has made his requests and we are yet to sit and decide on what the outcome will be.
"Since I personally voiced my opinion on a public platform, it won’t be right for me to sit and take part in this decision. We need to define punishment for what one has done. As a trade union, we can only expel such people from associations. But as an industry, we need to think."
Alok Nath is just one of several prominent film personalities to have been exposed as sexual predators in the ongoing #MeToo campaign in the industry.