Actress Shwetha Menon moves Kerala High Court to quash FIR over alleged obscene film content

Malayalam actress Shwetha Menon has filed a petition before the Kerala High Court seeking to quash a first information report (FIR) registered against her over allegations of acting in obscene films and advertisements for financial gain [Shewtha Menon v State of kerala & anr]

The matter is listed before the bench of Justice VG Arun.

The FIR was registered by the Ernakulam Central Police, after the Chief Judicial Magistrate referred a complaint filed by Martin Menachery, General Secretary of the News Paper Association of India (Kerala region), to the police.

The FIR accused the actress of offences under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (punishment for publishing or transmitting sexually explicit content in electronic form), along with Sections 3 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, which deal with prostitution related offences, including punishment for keeping a brothel or allowing premises to be used for such purposes (Section 3), and procuring, inducing or taking a person for the sake of prostitution (Section 5).

As per the complaint, Menon acted in films and advertisements that included vulgar and obscene content, which was then allegedly circulated through social media platforms and adult websites to gain popularity and generate income.

In her petition, Menon has contended that the allegations were entirely baseless and part of a motivated attempt to tarnish her public image.

As per the plea, the films mentioned in the complaint such as Paleri Manikyam, Rathinirvedham and Kalimannu, were lawfully released, certified by the censor board, and acclaimed for their artistic merit.

Menon pointed out that her performance in Paleri Manikyam won her the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress.

The actor also denied any involvement in running pornographic websites and said that such defamatory allegations have been made without any material evidence.

Menon's plea also stated that she had filed her nomination to contest for the post of President of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) and that the complaint was filed on the last day for withdrawal of nominations. The FIR was registered shortly after.

She alleged that the timing and content of the complaint indicated that it was aimed at sabotaging her candidature and reputation.

The petition was filed through advocates Unni Sebastian Kappen and M Revikrishnan