Kerala HC grants anticipatory bail to Lakshadweep filmmaker Aisha Sultana in sedition case

The Kerala High Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to filmmaker Aisha Sultana in the sedition case registered against her for a remark she made against Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel.

The case was filed earlier this month based on a complaint raised by the BJP Lakshadweep president C Abdul Khader Haji, who had alleged that Sultana criticised the Centre and called Patel a “bioweapon” during a debate on a Malayalam news channel about the ongoing political crisis in Lakshadweep.

A single bench of the Kerala High Court had granted her interim anticipatory bail for a week on June 17. On Sunday, she appeared before the Lakshadweep Kavaratti police for questioning in connection with the case. Sultana told PTI that her advocate was also accompanying her and she would cooperate with the police.

The Lakshadweep Administration on Thursday argued before the Kerala High Court that Sultana had violated Covid protocol while out on interim bail.

Justifying her statement in a Facebook post, Sultana wrote, “I had used the word bio-weapon in the TV channel debate. I have felt Patel as well as his policies [have acted] as a bio-weapon. It was through Patel and his entourage that Covid-19 spread in Lakshadweep. I have compared Patel as a bioweapon, not the government or the country…. You should understand. What else should I call him…”

Sultana has been at the forefront of the recent campaign against the recently proposed legislation and controversial reform measures that have triggered widespread anger amongst locals in Lakshadweep.