Kannada actor Arjun Sarja, who has been accused of sexual harassment by actress Sruthi Hariharan, moved the high court on Tuesday seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against him on October 27.
In the petition, Arjun has accused Sruthi of misusing the #MeToo movement and stated, "The amount of public attention and popularity a complainant of MeToo movement gained, did act as a tempting factor for many ladies in India too, but unfortunately, they began to lodge false and stale complaints over social media platforms with the hashtag #MeToo and the complaints so elevated had not obviously traveled through a fair judicial or prosecution process before".
He further said that the incident has put him and his family members into a deep distress and has caused embarrassment.
Sruthi, 29, named Arjun, 54, in her Facebook post on October 20, while accusing him of sexually harassing her on the sets of a Kannada film in 2016. She also referred to two other incidents in November and December of 2015 in her complaint.
The Facebook post reads, "During the rehearsal, we delivered our lines and Mr. Arjun hugs me. With no forewarning or permission, he runs his hands intimately up and down my back. He pulls me closer with my body taut against his and asks the director if we could use this idea of foreplay in the scene."
Talking about the allegations, Arjun Sarja stated that this was her (Sruthi’s) presumption. He said that the incidents took place during the rehearsal and shooting of an intimate scene in which they were essaying the roles of husband and wife. Whatever happened during the scene was clearly a demand of the work undertaken, said Sarja.
Following the allegations in a Facebook post, both Sruthi and Arjun held press conferences putting forward their stand. Also, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) had called a meeting on October 25 where both the actors were counselled by veteran actor Ambreesh along with Kavita Lankesh and others.
Last week, the Karnataka State Women's Commission had taken Suo Motu cognisance of the case and had written to the city police commissioner to take necessary action.
The Sandalwood industry has been divided over the issue.
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