Supreme Court frees Madhur Bhandarkar from rape charges

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed rape charges against National award winning director Madhur Bhandarkar today. Bhandarkar is famous for directing films like Heroine, Chandni Bar, Page 3, Traffic Signal, Corporate and Fashion.

In 2009, actress Preeti Jain accused Madhur Bhandarkar of rape. She said that Madhur Bhandarkar promised her a lead role in his film and exploited her for this. Preeti alleged that she slept with Mr Bhandarkar from 1999-2004. Preeti also said that Madhur Bhandarkar promised that he will marry her.

In a statement, Preeti alleged, "We had sex 16 times and Madhur made promises of giving me a lead role in his films. However, he didn't offer me a lead role in any of his movies. At times when I refused, he raped me."

In 2006, police found Preeti Jain allegation was based on a lie. So, police asked the court to dismiss the case against Madhur Bhandarkar as they found Preeti Jain's allegations to be false. But Preeti Jain moved to the Mumbai court against that order.

In September 2011, the Mumbai court rejected the police report and ruled that Bhandarkar would be tried for rape. In November 2011, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Bhandarkar on this case.