The lawyer representing directors Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane in court today against their former co-founder and co-partner at Phantom Films, Vikas Bahl, said that the latter had cried after confessing to the sexual harassment charges levied against him by a former employee of their erstwhile production company. Kashyap's and Motwane’s lawyer Venkatesh Dhond said, “He (Bahl) broke down and confirmed the incident, promising to go in for rehabilitation. This man has a drinking problem and he had promised to go to rehab as he cannot control his actions when he is drunk.”
Bahl has been accused of grave sexual misconduct and sexual harassment by a former employee but she does not want to pursue a police complaint against him. Bahl’s misdemeanors resulted in the dissolution of Phantom Films and the allegations along with Kashyap’s statement about the issue were made public by a leading website. Bahl has denied all allegations and in turn, had sued Kashyap and Motwane for Rs 10 crore in damages.
[caption id="attachment_146444" align="aligncenter" width="647"]
L-R: Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Madhu Mantena and Vikramaditya Motwane[/caption]
Advocate Navroz Seervai, representing the woman who accused Bahl of sexual harassment produced a statement in court with her signature confirming that the incident happened three years ago. The accuser does not want to pursue the case further but her claims were backed by Kangana Ranaut, Nayani Dixit, and Imran Khan. However, Bahl’s advocate Janak Dwarkadas opposed the victim being let off from the case and said, “She will have to be subjected to cross-examination. It can't be that Bahl's reputation can be tarnished at the behest of the victim and she would be dropped from the hearing."
The court hearing has been adjourned to October 25. Bahl has filed a defamation suit against Kashyap and Motwane and is seeking an injunction that the dup be gagged from speaking against him.
