Kerala court registers suo motu case against former Minister AK Saseendran in sex tape case

According to reports, the case has been booked under non-bailable sections.
Kerala court registers suo motu case against former Minister AK Saseendran in sex tape case
Kerala court registers suo motu case against former Minister AK Saseendran in sex tape case
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A suo motu case has been registered against former Kerala Transport Minister AK Saseendran by the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court of Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, over the ‘sex tape’ released by Mangalam TV. According to reports, the case has been booked under non-bailable sections.

Saseendran had resigned from his ministerial post on March 26 over the sex tape that was aired by a private regional news channel earlier on that day.

He had then said, “I just want to prove I’m right after stepping out of the position,” and added that his resignation was to safeguard the integrity of the government.

“Before evaluating right and wrong, it is important to safeguard the integrity of the party. The party has a moral responsibility. Neither the government nor the party will have to hang its head in shame because of me,” the Elathoor MLA of the Nationalist Congress Party had said.

The audio clip aired by Mangalam channel in its first bulletin following its launch had a man’s voice speaking in a lewd manner, while the audio of the person on the other end had been edited out.

The channel had first alleged that the voice was that of Saseendran, and that he had called the woman and spoken to her for sexual favours, after she came to him asking for help.

There were allegations from certain sections of the media of ‘honey trapping’, with a woman journalist even reigning from the channel citing ethical reasons. A collective of female journalists marched in protests towards the office of Malayalam television channel in Thiruvananthapuram on March 31 over the disrepute it brought to female reporters.

Following the uproar, Mangalam TV in a clarification admitted that it was indeed a journalist working for the channel who was part of the conversation with the Minister. Three days after airing the tape, Mangalam had said that Saseendran was trapped in a ‘sting operation’ and apologised for any inconvenience caused to other women journalists.

The journalist who conducted the sting herself then approached the court, where she accused Saseendran of harassing her multiple times, after which she decided to record the conversation.

On April 4, five journalists including the CEO of the channel were arrested under 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (criminal conspiracy) and section 67 A of the IT Act.

Incidentally, Saseendran was the second LDF minister in the current Kerala government to resign. Kerala Industries Minister EP Jayarajan resigned in October over allegations of nepotism.

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