SC grants relief from arrest to BJP leader S Ve Shekher

The Supreme Court today granted interim protection from arrest till June 1 to actor-turned-BJP leader S Ve Shekher, against whom a case was lodged for sharing a Facebook post allegedly containing derogatory references to women scribes and the media.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha also issued notice to Tamil Nadu seeking its reply on the plea filed by Shekher, who has challenged the May 10 order of Madras High Court dismissing his petition seeking anticipatory bail in the case.

The bench, while posting the matter for further hearing on June 1, said no coercive action should be taken against Shekhar till then.

An FIR was registered against Shekher by the Cyber Crime cell for alleged offences under various sections of the IPC, including insult intended to provoke breach of peace, gesture and words intended to insult the modesty of a woman and under provisions of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act.

He has claimed in his plea that he was not the author of the Facebook post and was not aware about its contents when he forwarded it after receiving it from one Tirumalai Sa. He has also said that he had removed the post after he came to know about its content.

"I am no way connected to the said message, which was simply forwarded by me without reading the contents of the message only on the bona fide impression and over-confidence," he had said in his plea filed in the high court.

He had claimed in the high court that the case was lodged against him by making baseless allegations and there was no iota of truth in it. He had also said there was no intention on his part to defame or hurt anyone.

Journalists had condemned and staged protests against Shekher for the post, which he had later deleted. The post had made alleged insinuations against the media and women journalists following the "patgate" row involving Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

The 78-year-old governor had last month patted a woman journalist on the cheek, apparently seeking to avoid answering a question she had asked. The governor had later apologised to the women scribe.