“Gods too visit Jawed Habib Saloon” reads the caption of the advertisement featuring a cartoon of Hindu Gods
Hyderabad: A case has been filed against hair stylist Jawed Habib and his chain of saloons for allegedly insulting Hindu Gods in a newspaper advertisement published in Kolkata two days ago.
Based on a complaint made by a lawyer K Karuna Sagar, the police has registered a case under IPC section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).
The complaint was filed in the Saidabad police station two days ago, accusing Habib of depicting Hindu gods and godesssess in an “insulting” and “derogatory” way. Another complaint was lodged against Jawed Habib by a Hyderabad University student.
The ad, carried a caption “Gods too visit Jawed Habib Saloon” for a cartoon depicting Hindu Gods sitting in the saloon.
Habib posted a video to Twitter apologising for the content of the advertisement.
“One of our partners released the advertisement in Kolkata. I have been working for 25 years. Our system is through franchise and sentiments have been hurt. My only religion is scissors. I apologise for this,” he said in the video.
According to a report by Indian Express, Hyderabad Police has said they would seek legal opinion and, if necessary, send a notice to Habib.
“I came to know Habib has already issued an apology in writing and also posted a video online apologising for the advertisement. We will take legal opinion and see how to proceed,” Inspector K Sattiah said.
A letter has also been posted online by Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty Limited, which stated: “We never ever intended to hurt the sentiments of any community. It was done without knowledge of the company by some local people in West Bengal. We undertake to remove all such advertisement material from the media.”
“If our ad campaign had inadvertently hurt anyone’s sentiments we apologise for that to the public at large,” the letter added.
