In a blow to veteran actor Alok Nath who is facing several accusations of sexual harassment and worse, a sessions court in Mumbai has rejected an application filed by his wife Ashu for an injunction against screenwriter Vinta Nanda to stop her from making any public statements on the subject.
After hearing the application, judge SU Baghele of the sessions court at Dindoshi in north Mumbai refused to order any injunction.
Speaking to Cinestaan.com, Nanda’s lawyer Faranaaz Karbhari said, “Alok Nath, through his wife, had sought to gag Vinta Nanda from making statements in public. The court refused to entertain that application."
According to the lawyer, the court said Nanda’s public statements on her traumatic experiences with Alok Nath do not amount to defamation. Talking about the events in one’s life is not defamation, the court said.
Vinta Nanda had written a post on Facebook about how, among other things, Alok Nath had raped her many years ago. "Unless they actually prove that what she is saying is wrong, they can't stop her from saying anything," Karbhari said.
Following the accusation, Alok Nath had issued a statement that Nanda may have been raped but not by him. Alok Nath has also filed a civil defamation suit for Re1 against Nanda.
It must be noted that Nanda had only narrated her #MeToo experience from nearly 20 years ago and not filed any complaint against Alok Nath. However, after the actor sued for defamation, she went ahead and filed a police complaint.
According to Karbhari, the Mumbai police spoke to Nanda for four hours today and recorded her statement. Only when the preliminary investigation is complete will a first information report be filed.