An Indian actress won a legal battle over comments she made about pre-marital sex when the Supreme Court Wednesday threw out 22 cases lodged against her by outraged members of the public.
Khushboo, a 39-year-old Tamil actress who uses only one name, appealed to the court to quash the criminal cases that were filed in 2005 following remarks she made in magazine interviews.
She told one publication that "no educated man would expect his (bride) to be a virgin" — sparking a scandal across southern India, where she is a popular movie star and television presenter.
Pinky Anand, Khushboo’s lawyer, said the Supreme Court had ruled in her client’s favor, adding that she was "delighted when the fundamental rights of speech and expression and opinion are upheld."
"Our arguments were not trying to justify live-in partnerships, or that pre-marital sex is OK," Anand told reporters. "But don’t let us say these things are not talked about and not heard of."
Khushboo appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower court in the southern city of Chennai dismissed her plea for the cases — which accused her of corrupting young minds by promoting pre-marital sex — to be dismissed.
"Every celebrity is pinned down for no rhyme or reason and that is quite a harassment," she told NDTV news after Wednesday’s verdict. "It’s not an easy task for a woman to stand alone and say ‘I believe in what I have spoken’."
Marriage remains the central focus of most Indian lives, with weddings celebrated in lavish style and many households made up of extended families including grandparents, parents, children and assorted relatives.
Earlier during the Supreme Court case, judges had supported the right of unmarried couples to live together — pointing out that even Hindu gods Lord Krishna and Radha were co-habiting lovers.
The judges challenged lawyers acting for the complainants to produce evidence of any girl running away from her family with a lover in response to the actress’s comments.
