As per reports, Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna have been served a legal notice for auctioning the naval uniform he wore in “Rustom”. The notice has also been sent to auction house SaltScout, which has put out the naval officer uniform for online bidding. The Notice has reportedly been sent by twenty-one individuals which include 11 serving army officers and 7 retired officers. The reports state that if the addressees do not comply with the requisitions of cancelling the auction, legal action would be taken against them.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the highest bid offered for the uniform — which includes a shirt, pants and a hat — was Rs 235,000. The auction closes on May 26 night.
The legal notice says that the “uniforms resembling those of armed forces pose potential threat to national security as the said uniform, insignia and badges could pass for genuine service clothing and can find their way to anti-national elements who can use it to foment trouble.”
The notice also states that after the Pathankot attack, “Indian Army had issued guidelines urging civilians across the country to avoid wearing army pattern dresses and shopkeepers were asked to not sell combat clothes, uniforms and equipments as it is ‘illegal to do so’. Thus, by putting the naval officer uniform for auction you have shown disrespect to national interest and have hurt the sentiments of armed force personnel.”
The notice further states “As a matter of fact, till date no uniform or medal has been put for auction. The reason for the same being that an officer’s uniform is bestowed as a singular honour on a commissioned officer by President of India for life. It is not a contract but entails a liability for the nation’s sake and thus the array of medals and ranks, insignia are for the discerning eye of the one who proudly wears it.”
Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna have claimed that the money raised from the auction would be used for social causes and 90 per cent of the net proceeds from it would support NGO Janice’s Trust, an animal rescue service, treatment centre and shelter based in Panchgani in Maharashtra.
The Bollywood couple have defended the auction, saying they “are doing some work with good intention for a good cause”.
The uniform Akshay wore in “Rustom” — a 2016 period thriller set in the 1950s about Parsi Indian naval officer Rustom Pavri, who is struggling with his marriage after he discovers his wife (played by Ileana D’Cruz) has an affair with his friend, a businessman who was trying to negotiate a deal to sell a damaged aircraft carrier to the Indian Navy. The film was based on the real-life incident of Naval Officer K. M. Nanavati and businessman Prem Ahuja.
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