Goddess Kali poster row: Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai moves SC for quashing of FIRs against her

New Delhi: Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has moved the Supreme Court seeking clubbing and quashing of multiple FIRs registered against her in various states over a poster of her upcoming documentary film showing goddess Kali smoking a cigarette. The plea seeks to club and quash the FIRs registered against her in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand over the poster, which shows Manimekalai herself dressed as goddess Kali and smoking a cigarette while holding a pride flag. The filmmaker has also sought an ex-parte stay of the criminal proceedings emanating from these FIRs. The plea was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha for urgent listing.

The bench said Manimekalai's plea will be taken up for hearing on January 20.
In her plea, Manimekalai has said her attempt as a creative filmmaker was not to offend the religious sentiment of anyone but to depict the image of a radically inclusive goddess. She has said her documentary film shows the broadminded traits of the goddess.

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She has made the four states respondents in her plea, along with individual respondents. Her writ petition was filed in December but was registered on January 11.

 

I pray the Supreme Court of India to quash all the multiple Police cases & inturn take action against the hate criminals who threatened to murder/rape me, my crew, my family in the name of religious sentiments. #artisticfreedom #academicfreedom #religiousfreedom #StopHateCrimes https://t.co/iR392ebyV4 — லீனா மணிமேகலை (@LeenaManimekali) January 14, 2023

Manimekalai has challenged the proceedings against her in the districts courts of Hazratganj in Lucknow, Ratlam, Bhopal and Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Haridwar in Uttarakhand and Delhi.

The filmmaker has said she has faced death threats and open calls for beheading, after she tweeted the poster of her film. She has said the multiple FIRs against her amount to harassment and an infringement of her right to freedom of speech and expression.