SHWETHA MENON Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) To malign the character of a woman without any foundation or substance is a pernicious form of social violence, for while it is easily uttered, the stigma it leaves behind is often indelible.

(2.) The petitioner, who is said to be a national cine actor, former Miss India and a candidate to the post of President to the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, has approached this Court, invoking its inherent jurisdiction, to quash the First Information Report and all further proceedings in Crime No. 1075/2025 registered by the Ernakulam Central Police Station, alleging that the petitioner has committed the offences punishable under Ss. 3 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 ('ITP Act', for brevity) and Sec. 67 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ('IT Act', for short). The FIR has been registered on the basis of a private complaint (Annexure-1) filed by the second respondent (complainant) before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam ('learned Magistrate'), who had forwarded the complaint to the police under Sec. 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).

(3.) The gravamen of the allegation in the complaint is summarised as follows: