The Kerala High Court quashed criminal proceedings against Malayalam actress Shwetha Menon over allegations of appearing in obscene films and advertisements. Justice C. S. Dias allowed her plea to set aside the FIR and related case.
KERALA: The Kerala High Court dismissed the criminal proceedings against Malayalam actress Shwetha Menon, who was accused of participating in obscene films and advertisements for monetary gain.
Justice C.S. Dias granted Menon’s petition to quash a first information report (FIR) and the related criminal proceedings against her.
The Court determined that the allegations, even when viewed in a straightforward manner, did not meet the criteria for the offenses specified under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (which penalizes the publishing or transmission of sexually explicit content in electronic format) or Sections 3 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, which pertain to prostitution-related offenses.
The Court concluded that it was appropriate to quash the criminal proceedings.
The Court stated,
“I am satisfied that this is a fit case to exercise inherent powers of this Court under Section 528 of the BNSS. In the aforesaid circumstances, I allow the Criminal MC by quashing the Annexure 1-complaint and the Annexure 2-FIR and all further proceedings in the crime,”
Additionally, the Court noted that the complaint seemed to have been submitted with the intent of harming Menon’s reputation.
In this context, the Court acknowledged a point made by Menon’s counsel, who argued that the complaint was lodged shortly after the actress announced her intention to run for the position of President of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). Menon ultimately won the election.
Her lawyer contended that the timing of the complaint was entirely frivolous and aimed at preventing her from participating in the elections, as well as defaming her character.
The FIR against Menon was filed following a referral from the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate, who acted on a complaint by Martin Menachery. The complainant asserted that Menon should face legal action due to her involvement in films and advertisements that supposedly contained vulgar and obscene content, alleging that such material was circulated on social media and adult websites for profit and popularity.
Menon countered that the criminal case was without merit and represented a targeted effort to damage her public image. She highlighted that the films cited in the complaint, such as Paleri Manikyam, Rathinirvedham, and Kalimannu, were legally released works that had received certification from the censor board. Furthermore, she noted that her performance in Paleri Manikyam earned her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress.
Menon denied any connection to running pornographic websites and stated that the defamatory allegations were made without any substantial evidence.
The Court had previously issued a stay on the criminal proceedings. Today, after determining that the complaint was filed with ulterior motives intended to undermine Menon’s candidacy and reputation, the Court quashed all proceedings against her.
Menon’s petition was presented by advocates Unni Sebastian Kappen and M. Revikrishnan.
Case Title: Shwetha Menon v. State of Kerala & Anr
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