SC stays FIR against Priya Prakash Varrier; asks Telangana govt to not entertain complaints about song

The Supreme Court today, ie 21 February, heard a plea filed by Malayalam actress Priya Prakash Varrier and issued a stay on the complaint filed against her and the makers of Oru Adaar Love. According to a tweet by Times Now, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud sent out a message to the fringe groups demanding a ban on the song ‘Manikya Malaraya Poovi’ from the film. [caption id=“attachment_4347167” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Priya Prakash Varrier in a still from Oru Adaar Love. YouTube[/caption]

#BREAKING: SC sends message to fringe, stay on FIR against Priya Varrier. LISTEN IN as @AneeshaMathur gives us more details pic.twitter.com/eKbxl5NqqQ

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) February 21, 2018

The film had landed into troubled waters after a spate of complaints and FIRs were filed against the makers and the actress for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Muslim community. The apex court also asked the state governments of Maharashtra and Telangana to not entertain any complaints against the makers regarding the contents of the song. Varrier had then sought the apex court’s intervention, stating that the complaints are an attack on Freedom of Expression and Speech. The first complaint was filed by Muqeeth Khan and alleged that the lyrics of the song insult Prophet Muhammad when translated to English. This was followed with a  letter written by the controversial fringe group Raza Academy  in Mumbai. The letter, written to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), demanded the imposition of a ban on the song. Several reports also suggested that the premier organisation for Islamic laws, Darul Ifta Jamia Nizamia, issued a fatwa against the song and its lyrics.