Madras High Court denies anticipatory bail to actor Kasthuri Shankar over comments on Telugu migrants

The Madras High Court on Thursday denied anticipatory bail to actor Kasthuri Shankar, who has been booked by the Madurai police for allegedly making derogatory and casteist remarks against Telugu migrants living in Tamil Nadu.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the Madurai Bench dismissed Shankar’s anticipatory bail application, which she had filed after a first information report (FIR) was registered against her earlier this month.

A detailed order of the Court is awaited.

Shankar allegedly made an offensive comment during a rally against “Brahmin persecution” held in Chennai on November 3. 

On November 5, an FIR was registered against Shankar following a complaint by a local organisation. The actor has been booked for the offences of provocation, promoting enmity between groups, and criminal intimidation under Sections 192, 196, and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).

Shankar had earlier told the Court that she had already issued a public apology and that her comments were “specific to certain individuals and not directed at the broader Telugu community.”