MPHC grants interim stay to Mandira

Indore, July 18: The Madhya Pradesh High Court's Indore Bench yesterday granted interim stay on a lower court's proceedings against actress-turned-sports anchor Mandira Bedi on a petition accusing her of insulting the National Flag.

Justice Vinay Mittal granted the stay on an application by Ms Bedi's counsel Anand Mohan Mathur and his associates who pleaded that the matter lay outside the lower court's purview.

Judicial Magistrate Shubhra Singh had issued summons for July 18 to Mandira, dress designer Puneet Nanda and a private TV channel under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, on a petition submitted in May by city-resident Indrajeet Singh Bhatiya.

A sari, worn by Mandira on a TV programme during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, had the Tricolour printed near the bottom. The anchor later apologised for her ''inadvertent'' mistake.

UNI