Court direction leads to case against Lakshmi Priya over alleged remarks against Ansiba
Actor Lakshmi Priya faces charges including defamation and sexual harassment following a court order, after actor Ansiba Hassan alleged she circulated objectionable content and made sexually coloured remarks.
Actor Lakshmi Priya faces charges including defamation and sexual harassment following a court order, after actor Ansiba Hassan alleged she circulated objectionable content and made sexually coloured remarks.
Actor Lakshmi Priya faces charges including defamation and sexual harassment following a court order, after actor Ansiba Hassan alleged she circulated objectionable content and made sexually coloured remarks.
Palarivattom Police have registered a case against actor Lakshmi Priya following a direction from the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate IX Court. The case was registered on a complaint filed by actor Ansiba Hassan, who alleged that the accused made sexually coloured remarks about her and circulated objectionable content about her.
According to the FIR, Lakshmi Priya has been booked under Section 356(2) (Defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). However, the Palarivattom SHO told Onmanorama that she has been charged under Section 75 (sexual harassment) as well.
However, Ansibha’s lawyer Firdous Ammanath told Onmanorama that she would file a contempt petition over the failure to register a case under Section 75 as per the court’s direction.
Judicial First Class Magistrate IX (Ernakulam) Shana Beegam had directed the police to register a case and investigate the complaint under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which empowers a Magistrate to order a police investigation when information regarding the commission of a cognizable offence is received.
In her complaint, Hassan alleged that the accused circulated objectionable videos of her on social media with the intention of tarnishing her reputation and subjecting her to harassment and public humiliation.
She alleged that the accused had committed offences under Section 75(iv) (sexual harassment) and Section 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). She also invoked Sections 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) and 67A (publishing or transmitting material containing sexually explicit acts in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, besides Section 119(a) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011, relating to atrocities against women.
Hassan said she had approached police authorities on several occasions but that no FIR was registered. She subsequently approached the Magistrate's court with a private complaint. While the Magistrate's court had initially declined to direct the police to investigate the allegations, Hassan challenged the order before the Kerala High Court.
The High Court subsequently directed the Magistrate to reconsider the complaint and examine whether a police investigation was warranted for the collection of evidence, among other purposes. Following the fresh consideration, the Magistrate directed that the complaint be forwarded to the police under Section 175(3) of the BNSS, leading to the registration of the case and initiation of an investigation.
(With LiveLaw inputs)