Lakshadweep filmmaker Aisha Sultana gets bail in sedition case

Thiruvananthapuram, June 25: Kerala high court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to Lakshadweep filmmaker Aisha Sultana in sedition case.

According to a LiveLaw report, Justice Ashok Menon at the Kerala high court passed the order on Sultana's bail application, the same single-judge bench that had earlier granted her anticipatory bail for a week.

Sultana was booked on sedition charges on a complaint by a BJP leader that she spread false news about the spread of COVID-19 in the union territory during a TV debate.

Khader, in his complaint, said that Sulthana, during a debate in a Malayalam TV channel, had alleged that the Central government used biological weapons for the spread of COVID-19 in Lakshadweep.

The BJP leader, in his complaint, has alleged that Sulthana's was an anti-national act, which tarnished the "patriotic image" of the central government and sought action against her.

According to the FIR lodged by Kavaratti police, a case under sections 124 A (sedition) and 153 B (hate speech) of the Indian Penal code has been registered against the filmmaker.

The Lakshadweep-based model and actor Sulthana has worked with several Malayalam filmmakers.

An archipelago located in the Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep has been witnessing protests by locals over the recent actions and administrative reforms being implemented byisland administrator, Praful Khoda Patel.

The residents are seeking repeal of the proposed Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, the Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation (PASA or the Goondas Act) and the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation (LAPR).