PANAJI
In a relief for actor Gaurav Bakshi, the High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday quashed the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him by the Crime Branch for allegedly circulating misinformation on social media about the reduction of forest cover in the State.
The FIR, filed on July 2 following a complaint by Deputy Conservator of Forests (Headquarters) Aditya Madanpotra, accused Bakshi of making false and unverified claims in a video uploaded on Instagram and Facebook. In the video, Bakshi had alleged that the Goa government and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant were “responsible for the reduction of forest cover” and had “denotified” areas previously marked as private forests.
Bakshi, in his submission before the high court, expressed regret for his statements, stated that he had withdrawn the video, and tendered an unconditional apology. Accepting his apology, the High Court quashed the FIR and imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on him, directing that the amount be deposited with the NGO Goa Foundation.
Earlier, Madanpotra, in his complaint, stated that the actor’s allegations were “baseless and misleading”, asserting that the State government “scrupulously follows the directions of the Supreme Court and other judicial forums” in finalising private forests.
The FIR had been registered under Sections 196(1) (promoting enmity between groups) and 352(1) (inciting public mischief) of BNS.
