Court orders probe into 'AIB Roast' show

A Mumbai court Thursday ordered police to investigate and register an FIR against 14 celebrities involved in the controversial "AIB Roast" show performed in a stadium here Jan 20, a lawyer said.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate C.S. Baviskar of the fourth Girgaum Court directed police in Tardeo to probe the matter against officials of the National Sports Club of India (NSCI), AIB Roast and many film personalities after a criminal complaint was lodged by social activist Santosh Daundkar.

Lawyer Abha Singh said the accused named were NSCI president Jayantilal Shah, secretary-general Ravinder Aggarwal, AIB Roast organisers, film personalities Karan Johar, Arjun Kapoor, Ranvir Singh, Rohan Joshi, Tanmay Bhatt, Gursimran Khamba, Ashish Shakya, Aditi Mittal, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, flim critic Rajeev Masand, and other unidentified people from the NSCI and "AIB Roast" show who took part in the "pornographic, obscene and vulgar show".

The lawyer said the stadium was built on leased land provided by the Maharashtra government and can be used only for sports-related events.

Instead, in violation of the lease agreement, a commercial, vulgar, obscene and pornographic show that attracted several Bollywood personalities was held where objectionable words were uttered before a large number of women audience, in open defiance of the laws of the land, she added.

The complainant invoked several sections of the India Penal Code, the Information Technology Act, Bombay Police Act, Environment Protection Act and Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practice Act in the case.

Arguing before the court, the lawyer said it was shocking how the votaries of freedom of speech justify such acts when they had no respect for the law, more so at a time when the entire country was concerned with women's safety issues.

She also questioned how could such a programme be allowed on such land without the knowledge of the municipal authorities and why police granted permission for it.