Govinda apologises, offers Rs 5 lakh compensation for slapping a fan

New Delhi: Bollywood actor Govinda informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that he was willing to apologise to his fan Santosh Bateshwar Ray for slapping him six years ago. He is also ready to pay Rs. 5 lakhs as compensation.

Now, SC has asked Govinda to meet the complainant in person and apologise. The actor has been granted two weeks time for the same.

In November, the Supreme Court bench, which included Justice V Gopala Gowda, watched the video clip of the incident on a mobile phone and suggested that the actor apologise to Santosh Ray. SC said that either the actor should apologise to his fan or face prosecution for criminal intimidation and assault.

While urging that the actor settle the dispute with complainant Santosh Rai, Justice T S Thakur had said, "You are a big hero, show your big heart."

At a press conference held in December, the actor had raised doubt behind Rai's intention, saying how can someone continue to fight the case for so many years without some backing.

He said, "A man who has no family here, who has nobody here. He got so much support and he reached the place illegally. It's something to think about... Who is funding this... How's it possible without it? So many years? It doesn't seem normal. No fan can behave like this. This is for sure. Fans love the artists, they go out of the way to support them.."

Santosh Rai had on February 2, 2009, filed the complaint under sections 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (1) (Criminal intimidation) of the IPC.