Jun 03, 2026 2:11pm IST
Pooja Bedi Lashes Out At Shilpa Shinde After Her Confession Of A False Sexual Harassment Case
TV actress Shilpa Shinde, during a podcast with Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, while talking about the series "Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain," blurted out that she had filed a fake sexual harassment case against the producer of the show, Sanjay Kohli.
Perhaps she did not realize the consequences of her casual confession. All hell has broken loose on the internet with netizens outing Shinde as symptomatic of everything that is wrong with the Indian legal system.
An organization named NCMIndia Council for Men Affairs, which works to protect men’s rights, shared the clip from Shilpa's interview. They have demanded that the actress be arrested for filing a fake sexual harassment case. Many other netizens are also demanding Shilpa's arrest.
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Pooja Bedi, a vehement advocate of equal gender rights, feels a ‘confession’ like Shilpa Shinde’s, takes the movement towards gender equality back by several years. “Any woman who weaponizes laws meant to protect victims, be it for revenge, personal gain, leverage, publicity, or malice, is betraying the very cause those laws were created to serve.
False accusations not only destroy innocent lives but also make it harder for genuine survivors to be believed. Such misuse of the law is unacceptable and must carry serious consequences.
Pooja believes the movement for gender parity has suffered a blow. “As someone who has spent decades advocating for women's rights, I believe that any woman who misuses laws designed to protect victims of sexual harassment or abuse who face real trauma, distress, and exploitation, are doing a great disservice to the movement. When false allegations are made, they not only harm innocent individuals but also undermine the credibility of women who come forward with legitimate complaints.Justice must protect the innocent as fiercely as it supports the vulnerable.”
In May 2019, singer-actor-author Karan Oberoi had to spend a month in jail on a false charge of sexual harassment.
Karan feels the need to have identical laws for men and women in harassment cases. “Any accusation has to be thoroughly investigated to get to the bottom of the issue before any name calling can happen in print media to destroy hard earned reputations and lives. The report may be a step in the right direction but will be lost in rhetoric if transparent and meticulous investigation isn’t done.
Oberoi feels a wrong 'MeToo' accusation damages the movement. “A false case is more anti-women than anti-men! Because genuine victims suffer on account of it. One false case has the propensity to cast aspersions on a hundred genuine cases. When the film 'Section 375' released, I had organized a screening for falsely accused men. It was a very important step in the right direction. I saw so many men break down on seeing the film. There were a hundred such falsely accused men watching the film. They needed to know there are many thousands of lives being destroyed by this legal terrorism. Each one has a very tragic story to tell. These are the ones who have suffered and chose to continue the fight for other accused and damaged people. I am just trying to galvanize all of them and to make an impact so as to let the world know of the injustice.I want this kind of legalized terrorism to end with me. No one should be thrown into jail by any vindictive woman in the future.”
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