Poonam Pandey, the Indian model and actor, was granted interim protection from arrest by the Supreme Court on Tuesday in the ongoing 2020 porn film case.
The other accused in the case include Raj Kundra, businessman and husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, and actor Sherlyn Chopra.
The Supreme Court, which was hearing Pandey’s Special Leave Petition appealing the Bombay High Court’s November order denying her protection, issued notice to the prosecution for a response and ordered that no coercive action be taken against Pandey in the meanwhile.
The case dates back to October 2020, when the Cyber Cell registered an FIR based on a complaint by Madhukar Krishan Keni, a 67-year-old retired Customs and Central Excise officer, about the broadcasting of nude, erotic content on an OTT platform.
The FIR was lodged under section 292 (sale of obscene material) of the Indian Penal Code, sections 67 and 67A (transmission of sexually explicit material) of the IT Act, and provisions of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
On November 6, 2020, over 20 people were booked by the Nodal Cyber Police, Mumbai.
In August 2021, the Bombay High Court had granted Kundra interim protection from arrest in this case, while he was in jail for a similar charge of pornography, which has been under investigation since February 2021. This protection was later extended until September 20.
In November 2021, the Bombay High Court had denied anticipatory bail to six of the accused in the 2020 pornography case, including Pandey, Kundra and Chopra, but granted them four weeks to approach the Supreme Court.
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Following the order, Pandey submitted her plea for relief at the apex court. She argued that she was not a partner or owner of any of the platforms in question and the complaint against her only concerned a video of hers that was available on some of those websites. Claiming that she was a victim in the case and not an accused, Pandey also stated that all of her videos featured on porn websites were already blocked by the Indian Government back in 2015.
The Supreme Court has now granted her interim protection from arrest until a response is received from the prosecution.
Earlier, in December, the Supreme Court also granted four-week protection from arrest in this case to Kundra, who is currently out on bail in the ongoing 2021 porn film case.