On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court granted Rakhi Sawant an exemption from appearing before the magistrate court in the case where she was accused of outraging the modesty of a woman.

Further, the high court has issued a notice to the model-complainant regarding Rakhi Sawant's petition seeking to nullify the case filed against her for allegedly outraging the modesty of a woman.

The division bench comprising Justice PD Naik and Justice NR Borkar, has issued a notice to the model and scheduled the hearing for 10th January. The actress had petitioned the high court to dismiss the charges under Section 354A and the defamation case brought against her. 

Sawant faced charges under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Sections 354(A) (outraging modesty of a woman), 500 (defamation), 504 (criminal intimidation), 509 (intent to provoke breach), and 34 (common intention), along with Section 67(A) of the Information Technology Act (IT Act).

Advocate Ali Khaasif Khan Deshmukh, representing Sawant, argued that according to the law, a Section 354A (Outraging Modesty of a Woman) case can only be initiated against a man and not against a woman.

In her plea, Rakhi has contended that upon careful examination of the FIR, it becomes evident that there are doubts regarding the authenticity and credibility of the filed FIR itself.

Case Title: Rakhi Sawant vs State of Maharashtra & Anr.