Huge relief, Says Varrier

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed criminal proceedings against actor Priya Prakash Varrier as well as the director and producer of the upcoming Malayalam movie ‘Oru Adaar Love’. An FIR was registered in Hyderabad over allegations that a song in her upcoming Malayalam movie hurt religious sentiments of the Muslim community. The apex court has restrained all states from initiating any criminal action.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had agreed to hear the matter after advocate Haris Beeran, appearing for the petitioners Varrier and Omar Lulu, the film director, sought urgent hearing. The petition filed contended that the “song is originally from an old folk song from Kerala which was written in 1978 by PMA Jabbar and was first sung by Thalassery Rafeeq, in the praise of the Prophet and his wife Beevi Khadija” and that “the claims that it hurts the religious sentiments of the Muslim Community are without any basis”.

Varrier and Lulu had moved the Supreme Court, seeking the quashing of the FIR registered in Hyderabad. The two had also requested the court to ask all states not to initiate or register any criminal proceedings or FIRs against them on the basis of complaints against the song and order a stay on criminal proceedings arising out of such complaints.