Kerala High Court Reviews Actor Ansiba Hassan's Petition Over FIR Refusal

The Kerala High Court admitted a petition filed by Malayalam actress Ansiba Hassan challenging a lower‑court order that refused to direct police to register an FIR against fellow actor Lakshmi Priya and two officials of the YouTube channel CAN Channel. Ansiba alleges that the accused circulated objectionable videos on social media to tarnish her reputation and subject her to harassment.

Justice Jobin Sebastian issued notices to the Kerala state government, the Station House Officer of Palarivattom Police Station and the Ernakulam District Police Chief, granting them a week to respond. The petition cites Sections 75(iv) and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, and Section 119(a) of the Kerala Police Act, asserting that the videos were deliberately distributed to humiliate her.

The court questioned whether the magistrate’s earlier decision, which treated the matter as a private complaint and declined to order FIR registration, had adequately addressed the alleged cognizable offences. A further hearing is scheduled for next week.