Amitabh Bachchan triumphs in row over Holy Quran

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan's Kaun Banega Crorepati was caught in the eye of a religious row recently.

The Allahabad High Court today dismissed a petition, which had accused Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan of having made a "derogatory" remark "with malicious intention" about the Holy Quran in a more than a year-old episode of game show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'.

The petition filed by Jhansi resident Mudassir Ullah Khan, who had taken exception to the use of the phrase "racha gaya" (composed) in the context of the Holy Quran by Bachchan in the episode aired on 28 September, 2011 was dismissed by Justice Manoj Misra.

The petitioner had contended that the Holy Quran was "neither written nor created by anybody, rather it came into existence/revealed by Allah (God) Himself" and hence the use of the phrase "racha gaya" was tantamount to "a serious offence" as Bachchan was a "popular figure" and "words used by him affects all communities".

However, Justice Misra disagreed with his contention and said, "To say 'racha gaya' does not necessarily imply that the Quran was written by some person. "The phrase can also imply that the Holy Book was composed by Allah Himself, which is another way of saying that it is a revealed scripture," Justice Mishra said.

Through the petition, Khan had also challenged orders of Chief Judicial Magistrate and District and Sessions Judge of Jhansi whereby his pleas for directing the police to register an FIR under sections of Indian Penal Code dealing with hurt caused to religious sentiments were turned down.

He had submitted that while the CJM had dismissed his complaint "illegally and without application of mind", the District Judge turned down his subsequent criminal revision terming it as "frivolous and vexatious" besides submitting that no objection was raised by any "school, institution or the Mohammadan community" nor was there any "fatwa" issued against Bachchan.

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