Bollywood actor Salman Khan today did not appear before Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) to explain his “rape” remark, inviting displeasure of the panel which issued fresh summons to him for his appearance on 7 July.
Khan’s reply to the National Commission for Women’s notice to him over the same remark, failed to satisfy the panel, which said it found Salman “not apologetic”.
Citing double jeopardy, a procedural defence that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges in the same case, the actor had sent a letter to the MSCW through his lawyer that since the matter was being heard by the NCW, it cannot be taken up by the state Commission.
The Commission and its members today went through the letter given by the actor and we found it unsatisfactory. The letter says that case is already being heard by NCW and hence it would amount to a case of double jeopardy. But we are of the view that our state commission has been conferred with concurrent powers and the case can be heard at both the places simultaneously.Vijaya Rahatkar, MSCW Chairperson
The Commission has now summoned the actor to appear before it on 7 July, she said.
When asked what steps the Commission would take if Khan failed to turn up again on 7 July, Rahatkar said, “That would be decided that day.”
In Delhi, NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said that in his reply Salman was “not apologetic” and that the panel was examining its mandate to deal with such instances and the legalities involved. Refusing to reveal details of his reply, Kumaramangalam said:
Salman Khan has sent a reply and it is not apologetic in tenor. We now need to decide what we are going to do next. We have to look at both what comes under our mandate and what are the legalities involved. We are not going to give out the details of Salman Khan’s reply now. We need to first go through it in detail, along with our lawyers. Only then will both his reply and what we are going to do next will be made public.
The reply was e-mailed to NCW through Salman’s lawyer on Tuesday evening, while the NCW notice was sent directly to the actor’s residence.
“The reply has come from his lawyer, which means it is a legal reply. So we can’t just reply off the cuff,” Kumaramangalam said.
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