The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has stepped in to halt a controversial Dussehra event that had planned to replace Ravana with effigies of 11 women accused in criminal cases.
The court on Saturday banned the burning of these effigies, calling the act unconstitutional and a violation of democratic principles.
The event, branded as "Surpanakha Dahan," was organised by Paurush, a men's rights group in Indore that claims to represent victims of wife abuse. The organisation had announced a massive 11-faced effigy, each face depicting a woman accused in cases ranging from domestic murder and fraud to drug trafficking.
Among the women named were Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused of murdering her husband Raja Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya, and Muskan, accused in the notorious "blue drum" murder case in Meerut.
The controversy escalated after Sonam's mother, Sangeeta Raghuvanshi, filed a petition in the High Court on September 25, arguing that her daughter's case was still under trial and no court had convicted her. Publicly burning her effigy, she said, amounted to defamation and mental harassment.
In a sharp observation, the court said, "Even if someone faces a criminal case, burning their effigy and publicly tarnishing their image is against the Constitution and the law."
The order, released on Saturday, made it clear that such symbolic punishment was "completely unacceptable in a democracy."
The Raghuvanshi community had strongly opposed the event, with Sonam's brother Govind Raghuvanshi filing a complaint with Indore Collector Shivam Verma, demanding the effigy-burning be stopped.
Govind, who initially expressed sympathy for Raja's family, has since shifted stance, even pursuing bail for his sister.
Ashok Dashora, president of Paurush, insisted the event was not meant to "insult any woman," but to symbolize that evil has no gender. "If Ravana represented wrongdoing in his time, today's society must confront modern-day 'Surpanakhas,'" he said.
Following the court's order, he added "We respect the judiciary. Now that a ban has been imposed, the effigy will not be burned."
Though the group is considering appealing the single-bench order.
The 11 names included women accused of crimes across India ranging from fraud and cybercrime (Nikita Singhania, Sushmita) to child trafficking (Shashi from Firozabad) and liquor smuggling (Hansa from Dewas).
