[Sedition] Kerala High Court stays proceedings against Lakshadweep filmmaker Aisha Sultana

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday temporarily stayed the sedition proceedings stemming from the First Information Report (FIR) registered against filmmaker Aisha Sultana in 2021 by the Lakshadweep Police [Ayshommabi AM @ Aysha Sulthana v Union territory of Lakshadweep]..Justice Ziyad Rahman AA passed the interim order staying the proceedings under Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for a period of three months, in line with the recent directions of the Supreme Court in that regard..Nearly a year ago, Aysha Sultana had come under fire after she made certain remarks on a panel discussion on the Media One channel regarding the new Lakshwadeep Administrator, Praful Patel, and the change in COVID-19 protocol on the islands, which was blamed for the sudden rise in COVID positive cases in the Union Territory.Subsequently a member of the BJP registered a complaint against her for the statements, pinpointing a comment where she allegedly claimed that the administration had unleashed a ‘bio weapon’ by relaxing COVID protocols. The complainant claimed that this was an ‘anti-national act’Thereafter, the Kavaratti Police registered FIRs against Sultana under Section 124A (Sedition) and 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) prompting her to approach the Court seeking anticipatory bail.On June 25, 2021 a single-judge had granted her anticipatory bail noting that there was no apparent indication of any assertions in Sultana's statement which were prejudicial to national interest..However, on July 2, 2021, the Court declined to grant an interim order staying the FIR registered against Sultana stating that it would be improper for the Court to interfere at that stage of the investigation.Following this, the Lakshadweep Administration filed a statement opposing the plea to quash the FIR.The statement alleged that Sultana was not cooperating with the investigation and that she had even deleted chats from her mobile phone after the registration of the case..The footing of Sultana's plea changed when, in May 2022, the Supreme Court directed that all proceedings initiated under Section 124A across the country be kept in abeyance till the Central government's exercise of reviewing said section is completed.Subsequently, Sultana moved the Kerala High Court again with her plea to quash the FIR registered against for sedition. In line with the order of the Supreme Court, the High Court issued an interim order granting Sultana a stay on the proceedings for a period of three months..Sultana was represented by advocate Akbar KA.

[Sedition] Kerala High Court stays proceedings against Lakshadweep filmmaker Aisha Sultana

Giti Pratap

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