The Kerala High Court has dismissed a case against film director Sreekumar Menon, stating that simply saying unpleasant words without the intent to insult a woman’s modesty does not count as an offense under Section 509 of the IPC.
The Kerala High Court has dismissed a criminal case against Film Director Sreekumar Menon. The court stated that simply saying unpleasant or abusive words, without the intent to insult a woman’s modesty, does not count as an offense under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This decision came from a case Menon filed regarding a complaint made by actress Manju Warrier. Justice S. Manu noted that for the offense to apply, there must be specific actions like using words, sounds, gestures, or showing objects with the intent to insult a woman’s modesty or invade her privacy. He emphasized that just using unpleasant or abusive language without such intent does not meet the criteria for an offense under Section 509 of the IPC.
The case against Menon, the petitioner, began with a complaint filed by the respondent to the State Police Chief in 2019. The respondent, an actress with over twenty years in the film industry, had established a charitable organization called the “Manju Warrier Foundation” with her parents. At that time, she hired ‘PUSH’, a company owned by the petitioner, to help coordinate her foundation’s activities. She also appeared in some advertisements with ‘PUSH’. An agreement was made with ‘PUSH’ in 2013 but was ended in 2017 due to disagreements between her and the petitioner. The respondent starred in a film called ‘Odiyan’, directed by the petitioner. She claimed that during filming and the promotional period, the petitioner defamed her. It was alleged that he spoke to her inappropriately on set and mentally harassed her. The respondent believed the petitioner was trying to damage her reputation and harass her colleagues. She requested actions to retrieve signed documents from the petitioner and to stop him from making comments that could harm her reputation and dignity. The High Court, considering the case details, stated, “While the words used may be defamatory and could have hurt the complainant, this alone is not enough to constitute an offense under Section 294(b). Therefore, the charge under Section 294(b) does not apply to the petitioner.”
The Court emphasized that just an insult or a false claim does not lead to prosecution under Section 509 of the IPC. It noted that if all other charges in the final report are not valid, then prosecution only for the offence under Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act cannot continue, as the necessary legal permission was not granted. Therefore, the High Court accepted the petition and dismissed the case against the petitioner.
Cause Title- Sreekumar Menon v. State of Kerala & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024:KER:81806)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates V. Vinay, S. Rajeev, K.K. Dheerendrakrishnan, D. Feroze, and Anand Kalyanakrishnan.
Respondents: PP Nima Jacob
