Vinta Nanda

lawyer

Alok Nath

character

assassination

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Tanushree Dutta's #MeToo case makes progress Moving a step forward in the 2008 Tanushree Dutta sexual harassment case, the Oshiwara police while probing the matter

Video: Vinta Nanda at Oshiwara police station to register complaint against Alok Nath - #MeToo Movement 00:35

#MeToo: Jackie Shroff feels it is unfortunate that his colleagues are fighting While the entire nation is abuzz with #MeToo stories, veteran actor Jackie Shroff has an absolute different take on the ongoing movement.

How many mouths will he shut?” asked writer director Vinta Nanda while arguing against the injunction application filed by’s wife Ashu Singh to restrain her from making any statement in public against the rape accused till the defamation suit is decided.Ashok Saraogi, Alok Nath and Ashu’s counsel, stated that Alok Nath had been given the nickname ‘sanskari’ by the virtue of his goodand resorted to characterin his defence. Referring to Vinta’spost in which she admitted to smoking, drinking and being a liberated woman, Saraogi noted, “This is how she certifies her character.”Describing her as a “storyteller”, he dismissed Vinta’s narrative that she drank herself silly and was in depression for 10 years, as “fiction”. “A person is unconscious, over drunk and does not know when she reached her home and who took her there. She just realised that she has experienced pain, but she doesn’t say where the pain is. After drinking you get a hangover, that too causes pain,” Saraogi challenged.Criticising Vinta’s move to ‘out’ his client on Facebook and not take legal recourse, he argued, “If it is a criminal offence there are provisions. If the police fails to take action, you can approach the higher authorities. There cannot be a media trial on the basis of a complaint.”Dhruti Kapadia, appearing for Vinta, pointed out that there was no Vishaka Committee 20 years ago and that even under the IT Act one is allowed to write what one wants. She argued that her client at the time was a 30-year-old lady who wanted a career. “This incident ruined it and by writing about it, she was exercising her right to freedom of expression,” Kapadia said, adding that while Vinta had not named Alok Nath, people in the industry knew who she was referring to because they knew about him.She went on to say that while several people had come forward to support her client after she narrated her ordeal on the social media, with some even speaking up about how Alok Nath had violated them, the actor has chosen to bring a suit only against her. “What does a woman have to gain by coming out and saying that she was raped. And we all know where the pain would be if a person is raped,” she retorted, responding to Saraogi’s bid at character assassination.Pointing out that even Alok Nath was drunk, Kapadia further argued that just because Vinta was drunk, it doesn’t make her characterless. “He (Alok Nath) says, ‘I have made her life’. He made her life by raping her?” the lawyer asked sarcastically.After hearing arguments of both counsels for almost three hours on Thursday, the court is likely to pass orders today.