Popular Indian comedian Kapil Sharma and Sony television channel director N.P. Singh have landed in legal trouble following a police complaint against them for disrespecting the courts by showing an actor drinking alcohol while performing a courtroom scene in "The Kapil Sharma Show".
The scene in question showcases an actor entering the courtroom set-up drinking alcohol and throughout the scene, he keeps holding his bottle and tells the judge to take liquor shots and even pours it in her glass.
Lawyer Suresh Dhakad, who found the scene disrespectful to the courts, which are held in high regard in the country, decided to raise the issue and filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the police against the show's creators.
He alleged that the courtroom scene where an actor was drinking alcohol amounted to contempt of court and that the show also made lewd comments about women.
"'The Kapil Sharma Show' aired on Sony TV is very sloppy. They also make lewd comments on women. In one of the episodes, an actor enters a courtroom set up on the stage drinking liquor and urges other people to taste it. This is contempt of court. It should have also featured a statutory warning, which it did not", Dhakad told Indian media.
Calling it an “objectionable scene”, Dhakad filed his complaint against the episode, which was aired on Sony TV on 19 January 2020, with a repeat telecast broadcast on 24 April 2021.
The hearing of the case will be held on 1 October.
According to the Indian legal system, if a person is found guilty of contempt of court, they may be punished either by imprisonment of six months or a fine of INR 2,000 ($28) or both.