Indian Supreme Court orders Govinda to tender apology for slapping fan

Govinda, who usually essays action and comedy roles, had to jump into action in real life, when in 2008 he slapped a fan during the shoot of his movie.

Govinda’s fan had submitted a petition in court against the incident and after hearing the case, the Supreme Court has ordered Govinda to tender an apology to the fan.

The court ordered Govinda to apologise to his fan for slapping him in public, and settle the dispute. However, if the fan decides not to settle the conflict, it could mean serious consequences for the actor.  If Govinda refuses to apologise to the fan, he could end up for two years in prison for criminal intimidation. It should be borne in mind that previously, many Bollywood stars have had to go to court for assaulting their fans or misbehaving with them in public.

“We also like watching his movies. He is a big actor. When you make a mistake you should have a heart to admit it. You should ask him (the complainant) to forgive and forget,”  justices TS Thakur and V Gopala Gowda informed Govinda’s counsel.

Justice Thakur, who is set to become India’s next Chief Justice, said that it was about time that Govinda admitted his mistake, since clear evidences pointed out to the fact that he had indeed slapped the complainant.
“He should accept his mistake rather than prolonging the litigation that began in January 2008. The bench refused to believe that the television footage showing the star assaulting Ray was morphed. The judges saw the video clip on the mobile phone of Ray’s advocate and said: “This is a TV report. It cannot be wrong.”