Actor Alok Nath gets anticipatory bail in rape case
Mumbai, Jan 5: Actor Alok Nath, accused of rape by a woman writer-producer, was granted anticipatory bail by a Mumbai court on Saturday.
Additional Sessions Judge S S Oza granted the pre-arrest bail to Nath on a surety bond of Rs 5 lakh.
It means if the police arrest the actor, he will have to be released on bail after executing a bond.
A case of rape under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against Nath by the city police on November 21.
The complainant accused him of raping her 19 years ago.
The complainant, best known for a 90s TV show, had first levelled the allegation in a social media post in October last year when the MeToo movement gained momentum in the country.
Though she did not name Nath in her post, she referred to him as the actor known as the "most sanskari person" in the field of acting. She subsequently filed a police complaint.
Nath is known for his portrayal of characters endorsing moral and family values in films such as "Maine Pyaar Kiya", "Hum Aapke Hain Koun!", "Hum Saath Saath Hain" and "Vivah".
Nath has denied the allegations and filed a civil suit against the complainant, seeking damages of Re 1 for defaming him.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
