New Delhi:

Over a hundred lawyers on Tuesday wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmu seeking revocation of Padma Shri conferred on film and TV producer Ekta Kapoor for making “unlawful” and “horrendous pornographic content”.

The letter written by 108 lawyers from across the country claimed that the content in Ekta Kapoor’s web series has significantly “degraded moral values”, tarnishing the sanctity of Indian relationships and disrespecting cultural traditions.

It claimed that Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian honour, was conferred on individuals who have made exceptional contributions to their respective fields and have positively impacted society.

Allowing Ekta Kapoor to retain the honour “inadvertently legitimises and endorses content that is not only morally reprehensible but also harmful to society”, they said.

“Bestowing such a prestigious honour upon someone whose work promotes obscenity and violates numerous laws, undermines the very essence of the award. In light of the facts presented, we earnestly urge the President of India to immediately revoke the Padma Shri conferred upon Ekta Kapoor,” the letter claimed.

It claimed that withdrawing the award would reinforce the government’s commitment to upholding ethical standards, protecting societal values, and ensuring that national honours are reserved for individuals who genuinely contribute to the progress and well-being of the nation.

“The content of these films and web series being streamed on Ekta Kapoor’s ALTT is so horrendous, obscene and unlawful that they would not even be approved for screening with an ‘A’ certificate in cinema halls by Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC). ALTT streaming pornographic content is blatantly violating several provisions of law, rules, guidelines, codes which restricts and or penalises production and distribution of obscene, indecent and pornographic material in country,” it claimed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

A court here on Saturday directed the city police to conduct an inquiry into a criminal complaint filed against film and television producer Ekta Kapoor for allegedly disrespecting Indian soldiers in one of her web series.

A magistrate’s court in Bandra called for a report from the police by May 9 on the complaint under section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Under this section, a magistrate can carry out an inquiry into a criminal complaint, or direct the police to do so.

The complaint was filed by YouTuber Vikas Pathak, also known as `Hindustani bhau’. Besides Ekta, it named her OTT platform Alt Balaji, and her parents Shobha and Jeetendra Kapoor.

As per the complaint filed through advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, a web series on Alt Balaji showed a military officer doing an “illicit sexual act”.

“The accused have stooped to a cheap low and shamelessly targeted the dignity and pride of our country by depicting Indian Army military uniform in the illicit sexual act with national emblem on it,” the complaint said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Mumbai Police has interrogated producer Ekta Kapoor and her mother Shobha Kapoor, who were booked under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly showing inappropriate scenes involving minor girls in an episode of ALT Balaji’s web series ‘Gandi Baat’.

After their interrogation on Monday, they have been asked to appear for questioning again on Thursday. Mumbai Police has sought information about the actors working in the series. They will also record the statement of the actors and director of the film, as per Mumbai Police’s statement.

The police have also asked Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor to bring some documents related to ALT Balaji.

Earlier, the Mumbai Police had registered a case against Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and ALT Balaji company under the POCSO Act.

The case is related to season 6 of the web series ‘Gandi Baat’ on the OTT platform ALT Balaji.

It is written in the complaint that the series, which streamed on ALT Balaji between February 2021 and April 2021, showed obscene scenes of minor girls. However, the controversial episode is no longer streaming on this app.