HC quashes warrant against Aamir for filming chinkara during ‘Lagaan’

Ahmedabad, April 11 The Gujarat High Court on Friday stayed the execution of bailable arrest warrants against Bollywood star Aamir Khan and his four production associates of the film Lagaan, for the alleged unauthorised filming of chinkara, a protected animal, in the movie. The warrants were issued by a court in Bhuj following a case filed against them by the Forest Department.
The High Court also stayed any further proceedings of the lower court in the matter and issued notice to the Forest department. The next hearing of the case is on April 25.
On March 27, the chief judicial magistrate Bhuj, had issued the warrants against Aamir, his former wife and producer Reena Dutta, director Ashutosh Gowarikar, chief executive production Srinivas Rao and cinematographer Anil Mehta on a plea made by the Forest department that the four had repeatedly failed to turn up before the inquiry committee despite a number of notices being sent to them.
The order by Justice Harsha N Devani comes three days before Aamir and his associates would have had to appear before the sessions court, Bhuj, as specified in the warrant.
Aamir and the others had approached the High Court seeking to get the proceedings against them quashed on the grounds that theirs was no actual filming and the animal shown in the film was created using computer graphics. They said the lower court had issued warrants without hearing their version of the events.
On their part, the Forest Department had said that the use of animal in the film was a violation of the written refusal to grant permission for filming issued by the conservator of forests, Kutch to the producers of Lagaan in November 1999.
The animal was allegedly injured during the film-shoot and died two months later.
The Forest Department further said that notices were repeatedly sent to all the accused but they chose not to appear before the department. The complaints in the Bhuj court seeking warrants for arrest was filed by J V Vyas, Divisional Forest Officer, Kutch.
The chinkara belongs to the antelope family and is protected under the Indian Wildlife Act and is placed in the Schedule, which prohibits its commercial filming without permission. Lagaan was shot in 2000 at the Jam Kunaria village in Kutch.
Express news service
Posted online: Saturday , April 12, 2008 at 03:49:57Updated: Saturday , April 12, 2008 at 03:49:57