The Kerala High Court has quashed the criminal case registered against actor Shwetha Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). The case had been registered at the Ernakulam Central Police Station based on a complaint by social activist Martin Menachery, who alleged that the actor had earned money through films and advertisements containing sexually explicit content. The police had booked her under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, which deals with the electronic transmission of sexually explicit material.

While setting aside the case, the High Court observed that the sections cited in the First Information Report (FIR) were unsustainable. The court also held that the complaint appeared to have been filed with ulterior motives and personal animosity. The court further noted that the complaint had been lodged just ahead of the AMMA elections, in which Shwetha was a candidate for the post of president. It was observed that the timing indicated a malicious intent aimed at damaging her reputation. According to the court, the allegations mentioned in the FIR did not disclose any offence and appeared to have been made with the intention of defaming the petitioner and tarnishing the reputation of a person leading a respectable life in society.

The case had been registered following directions from the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, which acted on Martin’s complaint alleging that visuals from some of Shwetha’s past film roles and advertisements were being circulated online. Shwetha had earlier approached the High Court seeking to quash the FIR, arguing that the allegations were baseless and that the scenes cited in the complaint were part of films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification. The High Court had initially stayed the criminal proceedings before finally quashing the case.