The Akhilesh Yadav government is now preparing to withdraw cases that had been set up against actor Sanjay Dutt in the previous Mayawati regime.
The SP government has sought a detailed report of the case from the Barabanki district administration and sources in the government said that the government would study the case and seek a legal opinion on how the case can be withdrawn. A similar case lodged in Pratapgarh against the actor may also be withdrawn.
It may be recalled that while campaigning for the Samajwadi Party in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, Sanjay Dutt, in some of his election speech, had said that he was ready to give “pappi-jhappi” (kiss and hug) to then chief minister Mayawati to prove that he had nothing against her.
The Bahujan Samaj Party had termed the statement as “indecent” and complaints had been filed against Dutt in several police stations.
Though the actor later apologised for his remark and clarified that the jhappi (magical hug) was for Mayawati whom he consider a sister and pappi (kiss) was for the people. However, the district administrations of Pratapgarh and Barabanki lodged an FIR against the actor for using “objectionable words”.
The FIRs were lodged under Section 294 (obscene act and songs) and Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of woman) of the IPC.
Later, the police filed a chargesheet in the local courts of Pratapgarh and Barabanki and both trials are still underway.
Sanjay Dutt, in 2009, was an active member of the Samajwadi Party and had campaigned for the party across the state.
Dutt also quit the Samajwadi party in 2010 along with Mr Amar Singh and later withdrew himself from active politics. Later, he reaffirmed his loyalty to the Congress.
Meanwhile, a senior SP leader said that the government was withdrawing cases against Dutt as a “goodwill gesture”.
“The cases were set up against him while he was campaigning for us and since the charges were framed with a malicious intention, the government had decided to withdraw the same,” the leader explained.