HC disinclined to quash FIR against social media influencer over selfie dispute with cricketer | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday expressed its disinclination to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered against social media influencer Sapna Gill in connection to a dispute involving cricketer Prithvi Shaw over a selfie at a restaurant.

The incident escalated into an attack on Shaw’s car, subsequently resulting in threats of extortion. The court suggested Gill to approach the trial court for discharge if the chargesheet is filed before the next hearing.

The incidents dated back to February 15, 2023, when Sapna Gill’s friend, Shobit Thakur, repeatedly approached Shaw with selfie requests at 1am, while he was having dinner at Sahara Star, Mansion Club, with his friend Ashish Surendra Yadav. Initially Shaw obliged, but later, refused to entertain the repeated requests, prompting the management of the club to expel Thakur from the premises.

Later that night, Thakur allegedly attacked Shaw’s car with a baseball bat, when he was trying to leave the club. Shaw somehow left the venue, but his friend, Yadav, was allegedly confronted by a group led by Thakur. Yadav reached Oshiwara Police Station, after Thakur along with five unidentified men and a woman chased and dashed his car. The woman, allegedly Sapna Gill, threatened Yadav in her attempt to extort ₹50,000 from him.

On the other hand, Gill presented a starkly different version of the story. She stated that Shaw and his friend invited Gill and Thakur to their VIP table at the club, where the cricketer was engaged in an “alcohol-fuelled party”. Following Thakur’s selfie request, an altercation broke out, leading to the cricketer and his friend mercilessly assaulting him. When Gill intervened to save her friend, Shaw allegedly sexually and physically assaulted her.

Shaw’s friend Yadav filed an FIR against Gill at the Oshiwara Police Station, which resulted in her arrest on February 17, 2023. Soon after her bail on February 20, 2023, the 24-year-old filed a counter complaint against the cricketer and his friend for “assaulting, molesting and outraging her modesty”.

Gill stated that the case against her is baseless and is an abuse to the legal system. Subsequently, she approached the Bombay high court to quash the FIR and stay the chargesheet against her. Her petition also highlighted the cricketer’s controversial past of alleged doping violations and disciplinary actions against him.

Notably, the Mumbai Police had submitted a report to a magistrate court on June 26, 2023, remarking that Gill’s allegations were “false and unfounded”. Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, representing Gill, pointed out the cross case against Prithvi Shaw and his friend, and sought time to bring more contradictory papers on record through charge sheet apart from the alleged extortion claim.

The division bench of justices Sarang Kotwal and SM Modak on Thursday refused to quash the FIR, stating that there is further evidence to warrant the proceedings. “You have to go for discharge, we will not cancel it. The FIR clearly mentions some crime, it shows that there is some material against you,” it stated.

However, the bench highlighted that the section for extortion may not be applicable in the case, considering that actual delivery of money or property never took place. Further, the court directed the additional public prosecutor JP Yagnik to submit the charge sheet for review.

Scheduling the next hearing on April 3, the court suggested Gill to seek directions from the trial court after the charge sheet is filed.