The Kerala High Court has dismissed a case against film producer Sreekumar Menon, ruling that “mere offensive or abusive words do not amount to an insult to a woman’s modesty”. Menon has been accused of using offensive language against a Malayalam actor on social media and allegedly misbehaving with her during the production of 2018 Mohanlal-starrer Odiyan.
A single bench, chaired by Justice S Manu, held that the charges leveled by the prosecution were not sufficient to amount to an offense under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with conduct intended to outrage the modesty of a woman. The complaint was filed by a popular Malayalam actress, who alleged that Menon’s behavior during the shoot and subsequent online abuse was meant to insult her modesty.
In its ruling, the court emphasized that “the utterance of offensive or abusive words solely for the purpose of insulting a woman’s modesty or invading her privacy will not constitute an offense under Article 509 of the International Criminal Code.” Furthermore, An allegation of stalking using obscene words in public was also found to lack substantial evidence.
Back in 2019, the actress had filed a complaint against the filmmaker, claiming he was trying to defame her through an organized social media campaign. Based on her complaint, Sreekumar Menon was arrested and later released on bail.
Following the High Court order, the FIR registered against Menon by the Thrissur town east police has also been quashed and all further proceedings in the case have been cancelled.
