There was no reason for the police to have arrested a television actor merely because he tried to imitate a popular religious leader, writes SUNIl FERNANDES
lawyers in courtrooms often rely on an oft-quoted maxim, “Show me the man and I will show you the law.” This proverb means selective application (or non-application) of laws, depending on the person against whom it is sought to be applied.
Actor-comedian Kiku Sharda (of ‘Palak' fame in Comedy Nights with Kapil) was recently arrested and hauled all the way from Mumbai to Kaithal in Haryana for mimicking Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a television show. The primary charge in the First Information Report registered against Sharda was under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code; ie deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
While Sharda has apologised, the Dera chief has said, “If Kiku has apologised, there is no complaint from my side.” So, things will die down in a few days and we shall all get on with our lives. But the moot question is: Should the actor have been arrested at allIJ Did he really have to apologiseIJ
I must confess that I haven't seen the actor’s mimicry of the godman, but watching it is hardly relevant. What is relevant here is that the FIR does not allege that the actor used obscenities or profanities or made any incendiary statement. The FIR alleges that the followers of the godman are hurt by the actor’s conduct. This does not constitute an offence. Moreover, Section 295A has rarely been used effectively or invoked against those who actually deserve it.
Our netas (irrespective of their political affiliations) have liberally violated this legal provision to create communal hatred. The recent Assembly election in Bihar is fresh in our memory. Political discourse reached a new low, but was anyone arrestedIJ When was the last time that a politician landed behind bars for causing religious disharmonyIJ
While the Dera chief professes to preach humanity and human values — his followers do not use their family last names, but the suffix insaan (human) after their first name — where is theinsaaniyat when an artiste is jailed for mimicking himIJ
Punjab goes to poll soon and the Haryana-based Dera chief has apparently promised electoral support to a particular party. That’s where the politics comes in. As a liberal Indian, I am outraged and appalled. Haryana Police has no time to arrest those killing in the name of honour (khap panchayats) or committing other atrocities such as female foeticide (Haryana has one of the worst sex ratios in the country, as per the 2011 Census).
The Dera chief himself faces prosecution, and also ostracism at the hands of Sikh temporal bodies for his claim as the 10th Sikh Guru — Shri Guru Gobind Singh. It’s an unfortunate irony that an actor should now be sought to be prosecuted for copying him. This irony is complete as the Dera chief, with his Bollywood forays in two eminently forgettable films, MSG: The Messenger and its sequelMSG-2 The Messenger, can justifiable claim to be an artiste as well. One may rightly ask him: Is this the way to treat a fellow artisteIJ
Some intellectuals will say that, had the actor been in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia or in any Islamic country, he would have been perhaps even ‘severely punished’ by the people and not merely arrested by the police. But since when did Pakistan and Saudi Arabia become role models for IndiaIJ In contrast, in the developed countries of the West, the actor would not have been arrested — even if he had not been felicitated for his work. So, where does that leave IndiaIJ