“Don’t you have any other job than to file a case when someone sings a song in a film?

With that sharp riposte to the Telengana Police, a Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud quashed the criminal proceedings against actress Priya Varrier and the director of the Malayalam film Oru Adaar Love, Omar Lulu, today and said no FIR can be lodged against the college student-actress or anyone associated with the film.

A religious group in Hyderabad had filed a petition saying that the lyrics of a particular song in the film had hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community. They had also sought that the video to be taken down and not be broadcast anywhere else.

The complaint against the actor and director was filed at the Falaknama police station in Hyderabad, alleging that the lyrics of the song, describing the love between the Prophet and his first wife Khadeeja, insulted the religious sentiments of the Muslim community. But Warrier countered in the court saying that it was a traditional song and a tribute to the Prophet’s love for his wife Khadeeja.  She said the complainants had misunderstood the song which was very popular among Muslims in northern Kerala’s Malabar region.

—India Legal Bureau