Bollywood actor Govinda on Tuesday agreed to apologize for slapping a fan seven years ago following the advice of the Supreme Court.
Appearing before a bench headed by Justice V Gopala Gowda, Govinda’s lawyers told the Court that the actor was ready to apologise to bring a full and final settlement to the case lodged by the fan Santosh Bateshwar Ray seeking monetary compensation.
The bench told the actor’s counsel Jatin Zaveri that it was for the actor to settle the dispute with the petitioner and not with the Court. The bench gave final opportunity to Govinda to work out a settlement with Ray on agreeable terms and report it to the Court on the next date of hearing.
Govinda’s lawyers later told reporters that the actor is willing to offer an unconditional apology and pay a compensation of Rs5 lakh to the aggrieved fan. The matter will be heard next after two weeks.
Ray had on February 2, 2009, filed a complaint with police claiming that the actor hit him on a film set on January 16, 2008. The actor had approached the Bombay HC to quash criminal proceedings launched by Ray.