Bombay High Court on Shilpa Shetty's plea against media coverage: 'You chose public life'; read details
Refusing to restrain the media from carrying reports about her, The Bombay High Court told Shilpa Shetty that she chose a public life and her plea could have a 'chilling effect' on the freedom of press, read more.
FollowMumbai: Actor Shilpa Shetty's attempts to restrain media organisations and social media platforms from publishing information related to her husband Raj Kundra and herself met with resistance from the Bombay High Court on Friday.
Shilpa Shetty had moved to the High Court on Thursday, accusing media and social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube of publishing defamatory content against her. Hearing the matter, Justice Gautam Patel said, what Shilpa Shetty is seeking in her plea could have a "chilling effect" on the freedom of the press.
He further noted that media reports were based on what the Mumbai Police have claimed and that the same cannot be construed as defamatory." You (Shilpa Shetty) chose a public life; your life is under a microscope, said Justice Gautam.
The court observed that articles that said that she fought with her husband or cried when her statement was being recorded cannot be termed as defamatory. Instead, the court said, it showed that she, too, is human.
The court specified that no part of its order should be construed as a gag on the media. At the same time, Justice Gautam noted that he was not refusing interim or ad-interim relief sought by Shilpa Shetty either.
The court, however, clarified in his order that none of the reportage on Shilpa Shetty should pertain to the parenting of her children. The court said that this part is safeguarded by the actor's right of privacy under the wide protection recognised by the freedom of the press to be balanced with the right of privacy.
Meanwhile, some of the respondents in the petition reportedly took down certain videos that Shilpa Shetty had alleged were defamatory.
Shilpa Shetty's husband, Raj Kundra, was arrested last week along with 11 people for the alleged production and creation of porn films via the HotShots app.
