Supreme Court Dismisses Islamists’ Demands In Priya Varrier Wink Case, Says Get A Job

In a blow to fundamentalists, the Supreme Court today (31 August) quashed the FIR registered against Malayalam actress Priya Prakash Varrier for allegedly hurting religious sentiments reported Bar & Bench.

Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud ruled that the winking scene in the movie Oru Adaar Love will not be hit by Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code and 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.

Chief Justice Dipak Misra went on to slam the petitioners saying “Somebody in a film sings a song and you have no other job but to file a case.”

A FIR was earlier registered at a Hyderabad police station by a person who claimed that the film’s Manikya Malaraya Poovi song on YouTube had hurt religious sentiments of Muslim community. Subsequently a number of criminal complaints were filed by persons and organisations in Mumbai, who demanded that the video be taken down.

The petitioners alleged the song adversely affected their right to life, liberty and freedom of expression under Articles 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution and asked for initiation of criminal proceedings.

Following the events Priya Prakash Varrier and others had to file a petition in the Supreme Court claiming the song had been misquoted, translated and taken out of context.