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Kerala HC grants protection from arrest to Lakshadweep filmmaker
The court also ordered Aisha Sultana to appear before the Lakshadweep police on Sunday for questioning
The Kerala high court on Thursday directed filmmaker Aisha Sultana to appear before the Lakshadweep police on Sunday for questioning but ordered she be granted bail immediately in case of her arrest in the sedition case filed against her for alleged remarks against the Union Territory’s administrator Praful Khoda Patel. The order came even as the Lakshadweep administration and the Centre opposed her bail plea saying many foreign journals and others used her words to portray the country in a bad light.
“She made a powerful and noxious assertion against the government of India. She has practically sowed seeds of separatism in the minds of people,” said S Manu, who appeared for Lakshadweep. Krishna Raj, appearing for the Centre, said “her remarks have international ramifications.”
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Sultana moved the court, which has jurisdiction over Lakshadweep, for anticipatory bail last week after she was called for questioning. She was booked for her alleged remarks calling Patel “a bio-weapon launched by the Centre”.
The case was filed against Sultana on Lakshadweep Bharatiya Janata Party chief C Abdul Khadar Haji’s complaint. In the complaint, Haji cited a debate on a Malayalam news channel in which Sultana purportedly made the remarks. He said her words were in “bad taste and intended to create hatred and aversion in the minds of people”.
In a Facebook post later, Sultana said she regretted the use of the phrase and that she did not intend to hurt the country or its interests.
Sultana’s lawyer, P Vijaybhanu, argued his client’s criticism was related to the new regulations introduced in Lakshadweep, which have triggered protests there. He cited the Supreme Court order in journalist Vinod Dua’s case that mere strong words do not amount to sedition.
A single-judge bench reserved the final order on Sultana’s bail application until next week.
The Supreme Court on May 31 expressed concern over the misuse of India’s sedition law and said it will define the contours of the colonial era penal provision to indicate what does and does not constitute sedition.
The slapping of sedition charges against Sultana provoked outrage.
The case was filed amid protests in Lakshadweep against the regulations Patel has introduced. The opponents of the norms say they will affect the region’s unique culture and traditions and threaten the livelihoods of islanders. The regulations propose to develop the islands as a major tourist destination and a ban on cow slaughter. The opponents allege the norms will destroy the region’s character and identity since 97% of the islands are covered by pristine forests and 95% of its Muslim population belongs to the protected Scheduled Tribe category.
Lawmakers, former bureaucrats and artists have criticised the regulations as “arbitrary” saying they are aimed against the majority community of the islands. The Kerala assembly has passed a unanimous resolution seeking the recall of Patel. As many as 93 retired bureaucrats sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticising the “partisan attitude” of Patel and urged him to protect the unique culture and traditions of the islands.
