The petition, filed by the actress and the film’s producer Ekta Kapoor, came up for hearing before Justice Raja Elango seeking to quash the criminal case filed by the police. The proceedings turned lively with the judge’s remarks on the case while hearing the arguments of the counsels of the petitioner and respondents. “There is no photo (poster) before me to judge whether it is indecent or not. To see a film which has been given an ‘A’ certificate, there is an age limit of 18 years, but there is no age limit to see a poster,” the judge observed.

Petitioner’s counsel C Padmanabha Reddy contended that the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Vidya Balan was an abuse of process of law. The allegations made in respect of the film would not attract the sections of law referred to and would result in unnecessary harassment of the petitioner, he noted.

The public prosecutor, however, contended that the actress was liable for punishment under Section 292 and 294 of the IPC with Section 3, 4 and 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.

Justice Raja Elango, while ordering a stay on criminal proceedings against Vidya Balan has sought a response from the police and the complainant (advocate P Sai Krishna Azad). There would be no dispute once the Censor Board issues a certificate to a film, he said.

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