Mumbai Court rejects anticipatory bail plea by Rakhi Sawant in FIR by ex-husband Adil Durrani

A Mumbai Court recently rejected the anticipatory bail application filed by actress and model Rakhi Sawant in a case filed by her former husband, Adil Durrani who accused Sawant of circulating his private, sexually explicit videos on media channels..The sessions judge Shrikant Y Bhosale observed that the allegations and material allegedly transmitted by Sawant was not only obscene but also sexually explicit. The judge also found that there Sawant had criminal antecedents as she had one case pending against her for a similar offence. "The relief of anticipatory bail is within the discretion of the Court and the Court has to grant or to refuse the said relief considering the facts and circumstances of a particular case. Having discussed the allegations and the facts and circumstances of the case I am of the view that this is not a fit case to grant relief of anticipatory bail," the judge recorded in his January 8 order..Durrani's allegation is that Sawant violated his right to privacy by circulating explicit videos of him.A first information report (FIR) was, therefore, lodged under Sections 500 (defamation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67A (publishing sexually explicit material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.Sawant then approached a Mumbai court through advocate Ali Kaashif Khan seeking anticipatory bail.She contended that the videos were shot by Durrani himself on his own phone and that he had failed to disclose this to the police..The prosecution meanwhile opposed Sawant's application stating they were yet to investigate the source of publications of these videos.The police also pointed out that there was another co-accused in the case who has to be investigated..The court had granted interim protection from arrest to Sawant on November 29 last year. After the court rejected Sawant's application, it extended the interim protection till January 11, 2024 to give time to Sawant to approach the High Court..Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh appeared for Sawant. Additional Public Prosecutor RC Salve appeared for the State. Advocate SI Sharif appeared for Durrani..[Read order]