Plea to strip Saif of Padma award

The Union Home Ministry is examining a complaint by RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal demanding that actor Saif Ali Khan, against whom charges have been framed in a Mumbai scuffle case, be stripped of Padma Shri award.

“We have received a complaint which is being examined,” said an MHA official.

Mr. Agrawal said the actor was already facing several other criminal cases.

He said: “An RTI response revealed that Saif Ali Khan, involved in many criminal cases, was recommended for Padma awards by the ‘Awards Committee’ at its meeting without mentioning the name of the member who recommended his name. Significantly, senior government officials and eminent personalities from different fields are members of the Awards Committee.” All the recommended names were to be cleared by several intelligence agencies before being announced for Padma awards.