The Supreme Court will hear a plea by Malayalam actor Priya Varrier and film director Omar Lulu on Wednesday, in which they seek to quash a spate of complaints against both of them and an FIR against the latter.
The petition was filed in the apex court on Monday after the song Manikya Malaraya Poovi from the upcoming movie Oru Adaar Love allegedly hurt the sentiments of a minority community.
Playing a young schoolgirl in the film, the video clip of the song features Priya winking at her schoolmate.
On Tuesday, a bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud agreed to hear the plea by Priya.
Priya Varrier is the first petitioner and Omar Lulu is the second petitioner. In their petition, they have sought an ex-parte stay on the FIR registered against Omar and have also sought appropriate orders restraining other states from registering FIRs against them.
Varrier's lawyer Harris Beeran told the bench on Tuesday that the actor moved court seeking the quashing of the FIR and four complaints filed against her and her filmmaker in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra respectively.
Later, speaking to reporters, Beeran said that the said song has been there for last four decades and there have been no complaints in Kerala.
What does the petition say?
The petition states that the claim that the song hurts religious sentiments of the Muslim community "are without any basis". According to the petitioners, the song has been in use for the past 40 years, and the song from the movie is a popular Mappila song from Kerala which describes and praises the love between Prophet Mohammed and his first wife Khadeeja.
The petition also states that the complaints raised against the song have surfaced due to an incorrect understanding of the lyrics of the song. A detailed English translation of the lyrics has also been attached to the petition filed at the apex court.
(With inputs from IANS)