Will Preity's FIR against Ness inspire women to protest?

Even as police investigations continue into the alleged misbehaviour of King’s XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia with his business partner and actor Preity Zinta, a larger debate has been framed around Zinta’s police complaint, one on whether women raise their voices often enough. “It is very good that Preity showed courage to complain. Whether it is true or false, the courts will decide but what Preity did will give moral support to many ordinary women. In Mumbai, the conviction rate under Article 354 at 3 percent is anyway poor. But whether Ness Wadia is convicted or not, the ordinary and middle class women will get strength from Preity’s action,” women rights lawyer Flavia Agnes told CNN-IBN during a panel discussion. [caption id=“attachment_1573515” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Lost bonhomie? AFP[/caption] Columnist Shobhaa De was taken by surprise to see many attempting to dissect the case in a way that Preity’s action comes under the scanner. “It requires lots of courage for a woman to file a complaint against a man. It is bad for others to call the case frivolous. We are creating categories of assault for women by discussing its degree. Both men and women can file a case for insult in a public place. What stops men from doing it? Ness has the same right as Zinta to file a case,” De said. Filmmaker Ashok Pandit felt that the seriousness of the case was lost a bit as Zinta flew abroad soon after filing the complaint. “If it is such an important case the complainant has to follow up. Why go abroad immediately after filing a complaint?” Pandit asked. The columnist did not agree with Pandit and instantly replied, “It is up to the police to decide if they want record her statememt,” De said. “Let us not get into an area where men are always wrong and woman are always right. It is about the dignity of both man and woman. Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar suffered for nine years under similar charges until the Supreme Court threw away the case. There should also be a provision for women’s punishment if the law is misused,” the film-maker said. The women rights lawyer did not agree that Zinta could be at fault. “The sections of the Indian Penal Code are put by the police. The complainant just narrates the incident. It would not be right to blame Preity for the sections of the law applied against Ness,” Agnes said.