Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday rejected a plea filed by actress Sai Pallavi seeking to set aside a notice issued by the Circle Inspector, Sultan Bazzar, seeking the petitioner’s appearance by declaring it illegal, unjust, unfair, and in violation of applicable laws.
In a petition that was heard by Justice Kanneganti Lalitha, the actress contended that the impugned notice was issued on the basis of a malicious petition that did not specify the substance of the petitioner’s offence, if any, or complaints that the respondent found severe enough to issue the impugned notice.
“Furthermore, there is no reference to any infraction of a criminal statute that would justify the issuing of such a notice in the challenged notice. Nothing in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) justifies the issuing of any notice like the one that is being contested,” the petition claimed.
The petitioner further stated that during an interview, she was asked if she had witnessed any leftist movements during her time as a student. In response, the petitioner said that, while drawing a comparison between what was depicted in the movie The Kashmir Files and a specific incident involving the mob-lynching of a person transporting a cow, we should be good human beings and we should not hurt or put pressure on anyone, and if you are a good human being, you should not hurt anyone.
Following the interview, the petitioner’s social media accounts were inundated with numerous comments threatening the lives of the petitioner and her family due to a skewed, partial reading of her viewpoint.
In response to a plea dated June 16, 2022, submitted by Akhil, a member of the Bajrang Dal, the Sultan Bazaar police served a notice on the petitioner, claiming that the petitioner had made remarks equating cow defenders to Kashmiri terrorists, which had hurt the feelings of the Bajrang Dal and Go Bhakts.
