Sixteen years after a controversy erupted over a prank on TV show ‘Comedy Circus Ka Jadoo’, the Bombay High Court has quashed the FIR lodged against host actor Shekhar Suman and comedian Bharti Singh, providing them with much-awaited relief. The ruling was issued on May 1. For those who don’t know, an FIR has been lodged against Shekhar Suman and Bharti for the objectionable words, “Oh God! Rasgulla! Dhahi bhalla!”The court said: “The mere mention of food items in a comedy cannot constitute an insult to religion.”
Something more is required. “There must be material proving that the words were chosen as a murder weapon,” the court said.
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Meanwhile, Shekhar Suman has now responded to the court’s ruling and got relief in the case after 16 years. “I didn’t even know about it. It was Bharti who said something innocuous, without any religious connotation. I wasn’t even part of it, but I was dragged into it unnecessarily to get publicity,” he told Hindustan Times.He added, “I am very grateful to the honorable judge who ruined the case. It was a surprise. I had long forgotten about it. I was not sent notice or asked to appear for my stand. Thank God for that. Imagine how some people waste the court’s valuable time and disturb innocent citizens. Justice prevails.”The case dates back to 2010, when a complaint was made about objectionable statements broadcast on Sony TV. Besides Suman and Singh, the name of the channel and scriptwriter have also been listed in the FIR. The complaint, filed by a representative of Raza Academy, alleged that Bharti made a joke referring to a Quranic verse, which was then repeated by Suman during the episode.