Kasthuri moves HC for anticipatory bail, says Madurai cops blindly filed FIR
The case has been registered based on a complaint raised by a member of Naidu Mahajana Sangam’s state executive committee in Madurai.
Kasthuri
MADURAI: Actor S Kasthuri has moved the Madurai bench of Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a case filed against her by Thirunagar police, Madurai over controversial remarks she made against the Telugu community, which she retracted later and issued an apology.
The case has been registered based on a complaint raised by a member of Naidu Mahajana Sangam’s state executive committee in Madurai. The sangam had earlier issued a statement condemning Kasthuri’s talk. The advocate representing Kasthuri argued before the High Court that the Thirunagar police had filed the case without going into the veracity of the complaint and argued that they see political pressure behind the action. The advocate sought anticipatory bail saying that the petitioner is apprehending arrest as she has been booked under various sections of BNS catering to promoting enmity between different groups, among others. Section 67 of the Information Technology Act has also been invoked, pertaining to publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form, the advocate said.
The petitioner stated that she made a genuine statement on the contribution of Brahmins to the Tamil society at the event held in Chennai on November 3 and only highlighted how the community was politically targeted. Further, the petitioner argued that she didn’t refer to the entire Telugu community in the talk.
Kasthuri’s advocate told the court that a person calling himself CMK Reddy, president of All India Telugu Federation, reached the petitioner through a WhatsApp call on November 5 and threatened her with dire consequences if she did not apologise for her speech. The petitioner then immediately rendered an apology through WhatsApp and “X” (Twitter) account and also released it to the media.
