Phantom ex-employee, who accused Vikas Bahl of sexual harassment, says won’t pursue case

A former employee of Phantom Films who had accused director Vikas Bahl has told the Mumbai high court that she doesn’t want to pursue the case. While the survivor didn’t appear in court, her statement was presented by a lawyer. “I have had enough and I am still suffering at the hands of this man even after three years. I do not want to be involved in litigation so will not file an affidavit. Will only put out a statement” However, the lawyer asserts that she stands by all the statements that she’s made in media against Vikas Bahl.

As per reports, Justice SJ Kathawalla during the hearing further agreed that there should be a committee of men and women to look into such matters. Talking to ANI later, Bahl’s lawyer Hitesh Jain said, “The matter has been adjourned to October 23. The victim has made a statement that she is not going to file any complaint against Vikas. So you can deduce from that as to what the whole battle was about. It was about fighting for the pride and truth of Vikas.”

In an apparent attack at Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, the lawyer said that they are trying to malign the image of his client. “Once the victim says that she does not want to file the complaint the automatic impression is that someone was trying to fire from her shoulder. That is the reason we have filed the complaint against those people who were trying to use the victim and fire from her shoulder,” the lawyer further added.

Bahl had filed a defamation case against Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and others recently in the Bombay High Court, and also sought compensation of Rs. 10 crore from the respondents.

In his application, submitted to the court, Bahl alleged that Kashyap and Motwane, among others, took advantage of the ongoing #MeToo movement in India and have published “false, malicious, unsubstantiated imputations, allegations and statements” against him through their social media platforms.

Earlier, the employee of now dissolved Phantom Films alleged Bahl of sexual harassment and narrated her experience with the director in a series of interviews with a publication.