Section 375

Year: 2019

Actors: Richa Chadha, Rahul Bhat, Akshaye Khanna

Duration: 124 min

Notable film director Rohan Khurana is arrested and convicted by a sessions court after assistant costume designer Anjali Dangle accuses him of rape. In the High Court, senior and talented criminal barrister Tarun Saluja works hard to punch holes in the accuser's claims, while Hiral Gandhi a fervent lawyer fighting her first big case, who was once Saluja's trainee, serve as the prosecutor and defence barrister of the claimed victim. Tarun Saluja goes by his principle Law is a fact, Justice is abstract. & lawyer should not get emotionally involved in the case or get into the debate of what is right or wrong. Tarun Saluja explains Hiral Gandhi that how justice is left out without proper defence. The pursuit of justice is nothing but a career opportunity for the defence lawyer, prosecution & the judges as well. He summaries this with his line " We're in the business of law, not of Justice". This is completely contrary to Hiral's attitude who gets passionately involved in her pursuit to deliver justice. For this very reason, she has quit the law firm of Tarun.Tarun in his cross-examination exposes tampering of evidence, lies & facts hidden by key witnesses. It is later clear that Anjali had consensual relation with Rohan which started with the pressure of retaining her job, but with time she got emotionally involved in the relationship. Later when she realises that Rohan is only interested in keeping a physical relationship with her whereas she was expecting him to be her life partner. There is a big argument between the two on this issue. Rohan belittles her & tells her that without him her career is over. Later Rohan throws her out of his second flat where they pursued their relationship. After a couple of days, Anjali apologises to Rohan & they rekindle their relationship. Later in the day, she reports this incident as rape to police.Insisting that it is a case of an affair gone sour, Tarun Saluja points out that the law does not regard consensual physical relations as rape. Hiral Gandhi argues that though a couple may have had a consensual relationship in the past, any subsequent sexual encounter without consent of the girl is rape. The case disputes the legal provisions of the penal code 375 that defines conditions under which a sexual offence can be defined as rape.The judges are put in a tough spot because on one hand, it is clear that Anjali had filed this case to take avenge her humiliation & on the other hand there is a strong public perception that rich & influential people are exploiting the underprivileged people. The two judges deliberate on the case in their chamber. A judgement in favour of Tarun would badly reflect on their credentials however, circumstantial evidence clearly points to fake rape charges. One of the judges peeks from the balcony and see protests against the accused going out of control and it is clear what their judgement would be. The bench while delivering the verdict accepts the merit of the case presented by Tarun however, they give into the public sentiment & strictly go by the book. They uphold the session court judgement which states that since there is no evidence of consent or force for this particular incident, so the statement of the victim is considered as paramount evidence. Later she is invited for dinner by Tarun's family & there he reminds her "We're in the business of law, not of Justice" which she now truly understands.

Genre: Action   Crime   Drama   Mystery   Thriller