Palash Muchhal in legal trouble after Smriti Mandhana’s friend files complaint for allegedly making casteist remark

AFter making headlines o'er his cancelled wedding party with cricketer Smriti Mandhana, Palaash Muchhal has at present landed in sound inconvenience. A case has been registered against the music composer for allegedly making casteist remarks against Smriti’s childhood friend from Sangli.Palash gets in legal troubleAccording to a report by TV9 Marathi, a case has been registered against Palash under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The complaint was filed by Vigyan Prakash Mane, a resident of Sangli and a childhood friend of Smriti.The complaint alleges that the incident occurred on November 22 at a toll plaza on the Sangli–Ashta road, where Mane claims that during an argument, Palash made caste-based derogatory remarks.Police have registered a case under Section 3(1) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, along with Sections 351(2) and 352. The investigation is currently underway.According to the report, the matter stems from a financial dispute. Police stated that Palash had reportedly borrowed ₹25 lakh from Vigyan Mane for a film production project, and Mane later approached him to recover the amount. The confrontation reportedly took place when Mane brought up the issue again, which led to an argument between the two.Mane also spoke to the media and shared his version of events, claiming Palash took him into his confidence and took ₹25 lakh from him to produce a film.“He had promised me to complete the film in 6 months. However, he turned out to be a fraud. When I demanded my money back, he avoided giving it. When I went to meet him, he abused me by using casteist remarks; I can’t even use them on camera. His mindset is very dirty,” Mane said.Palash and Smriti’s personal life in spotlightPalash and Smriti were set to tie the knot on November 23 last year, but the celebrations were abruptly put on hold after a medical emergency involving Smriti’s father. Concern grew further when Palash was also admitted to a hospital in Mumbai. Following this, the rumour mill has exploded, with some even alleging that Palash cheated on Smriti.Later, Palash shared a note on Instagram addressing it all. He wrote, “I have decided to move on in my life and step back from my personal relationship.” “Its been very difficult for me to see people react so easily on baseless rumours about something which has been most sacred to me. Its the most difficult phase of my life and I will deal with it gracefully holding on to my beliefs. I truly hope we, as a society, learn to pause before judging someone based on unverified gossip, whose sources are never identified. Our words can wound in ways we may never understand,” Palash added. Palash and Smriti unfollowed each other on Instagram after calling off the wedding. Since then, they have not commented on each other.