The Supreme Court today quashed the FIR filed against Malayalam actress Priya Prakash Varrier for allegedly hurting religious sentiments..A Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud ruled that the winking scene in the movie Oru Adaar Love will not be hit by Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code..It, therefore, quashed the FIR filed against the actress, the director and the producer of the movie, and held that no criminal complaint shall be entertained..CJI Dipak Misra went to the extent of remarking to the State counsel,.“Somebody in a film sings a song and you have no other job but to file a case.”.Following the release of the promotional video for the film’s Manikya Malaraya Poovi song on YouTube, the petitioners had been subject to much criticism from some quarters of the Muslim community. An FIR was registered in a Hyderabad police station by a person claiming that the song had hurt his religious sentiments. Further, a number of criminal complaints were filed by persons and organisations in Mumbai, who demanded that the video be taken down..This prompted Priya Prakash Varrier and others to file a petition in the Supreme Court. The plea claimed that the song has been misunderstood by people residing outside Kerala, as it is being translated and taken out of context, leading to the registration of multiple criminal cases against the petitioners..The petitioners had also claimed that the initiation of criminal proceedings has adversely affected their right to life, liberty and freedom of expression under Articles 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution..After hearing the parties on February 21, 2018, the Supreme Court had stayed all criminal proceedings initiated against actress Priya Prakash Varrier in relation to the song Manikya Malarayi Poovi..Today, the Supreme Court has quashed the FIR filed against Priya Prakash Varrier for allegedly hurting religious sentiments..Read the order below.
The Supreme Court today quashed the FIR filed against Malayalam actress Priya Prakash Varrier for allegedly hurting religious sentiments..A Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud ruled that the winking scene in the movie Oru Adaar Love will not be hit by Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code..It, therefore, quashed the FIR filed against the actress, the director and the producer of the movie, and held that no criminal complaint shall be entertained..CJI Dipak Misra went to the extent of remarking to the State counsel,.“Somebody in a film sings a song and you have no other job but to file a case.”.Following the release of the promotional video for the film’s Manikya Malaraya Poovi song on YouTube, the petitioners had been subject to much criticism from some quarters of the Muslim community. An FIR was registered in a Hyderabad police station by a person claiming that the song had hurt his religious sentiments. Further, a number of criminal complaints were filed by persons and organisations in Mumbai, who demanded that the video be taken down..This prompted Priya Prakash Varrier and others to file a petition in the Supreme Court. The plea claimed that the song has been misunderstood by people residing outside Kerala, as it is being translated and taken out of context, leading to the registration of multiple criminal cases against the petitioners..The petitioners had also claimed that the initiation of criminal proceedings has adversely affected their right to life, liberty and freedom of expression under Articles 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution..After hearing the parties on February 21, 2018, the Supreme Court had stayed all criminal proceedings initiated against actress Priya Prakash Varrier in relation to the song Manikya Malarayi Poovi..Today, the Supreme Court has quashed the FIR filed against Priya Prakash Varrier for allegedly hurting religious sentiments..Read the order below.
