The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday ordered Punjabi rap singer Honey Singh to present himself before the court on May 14 to respond to the allegations levelled against him for singing a song "Main Hoon Balatkari". HC has passed these orders while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by NGO HELP of Nawanshar in Punjab. The petitioner NGO had sought directions to set up some effective mechanism for curbing the menace of obscene/vulgar/lewd songs from the state of Punjab, such as setting up a censor board or framing some other policy.
The petitioner had referred to a news report published in " The Times of India" for bringing home the fact as to how vulgar/ obscene songs are being recorded and played by certain Punjabi singers. A specific reference was made to a song "Main Hoon Balatkari" sung by Honey Singh. The petitioner stated that all limits of decency are being violated by such songs. The petitioner referred to provisions of section 294 of Indian Penal code (IPC), according to which singing of lewd/ obscene songs at public places is an offence. It was further stated that women have the right to protect their dignity, as a facet of their fundamental right of "right to life", and thee fundamental right to dignity of a human being cannot be violated under the garb of "right to freedom of speech".
According to the petitioner, there is a spurt in the quantum of such obscene songs being recorded and played these days, but the Punjab government has not taken any steps to curb this growing menace. Earlier on March 1, the Punjab government had informed the HC that they are in the process of finalizing a policy to ban vulgar, misogynist and sexist songs in the state.