On Monday, the High Court of Karnataka granted stay against the first information report (FIR) filed against Kannada actor Upendra. He was charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 for an alleged racist remark he made during a live chat on a social media platform.
Justice Hemant Chandangoudar passed the interim order on a petition filed by Mr. Upendra questioning the legality of the registration of the criminal case lacking ingredients to attract the provisions of the Act.
In his live talk on August 12, the petitioner had used a Kannada proverb that some had opposed as a casteist remark while talking about the evils that all society and the transformation that was required to be brought into society.
“It is a proverb, which is generally used to state that criticism is bound to be generally there and one need not be unduly perturbed. It has nothing to do with insult to Dalit or people belonging to SC/ST. Very significantly, there is a place called Holageri in Shivamogga district and there are many people with the surname Holageri,” it was said in the petition, while claiming that the use of the proverb could not be construed as an insult to a community.
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