'Will continue to move legally against complainant': Shwetha Menon after HC quashes obscenity case

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday quashed all further proceedings in the FIR and private complaint filed against Malayalam actor Shwetha Menon, which accused her of appearing in films and advertisements containing obscene visuals.

Reacting to the verdict, Shwetha said the decision brought relief but added that justice in her case had been delayed. “Everyone knew the truth, but the process took time. The verdict that came today is the right one, but it could have happened much earlier. From August until now, it took eight months,” she told Onmanorama.

She said the long wait had been disappointing. “Sometimes it makes you lose confidence. I don’t even know where the person who filed the case against me is now. I think he ran away,” she said.

The actor also said she intends to pursue legal action in response to the complaint. “I will proceed with the counter case. I am not taking this lightly. As a woman, I felt he was trying to prove that we are the weaker gender. I had done nothing wrong, yet this case cost me a lot,” she said, adding that the experience has only strengthened her resolve to fight back.

Shwetha further alleged that the complaint may have been part of a larger conspiracy. “I strongly believe certain people were behind this, and I felt it had something to do with the AMMA elections,” she said.

The FIR had been registered by the Ernakulam police in August 2025 under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, which deals with publishing sexually explicit content in electronic form, along with Sections 3 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.

The case was registered following an order from the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Ernakulam based on a complaint filed by Martin Menanchery. The complainant alleged that the actor had appeared in several films and advertisements containing obscene visuals available in the public domain and had gained financially from such appearances.

The complaint was filed at a time when Shwetha was preparing to contest for the post of president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes. She later went on to win the election, becoming the organisation’s first woman president.