Supreme Court Criticizes Tamil Actor-Politician For Derogatory Post Against Journalist
Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, while allowing Shekher temporary exemption from surrender pending further hearings, questioned his motives and highlighted his failure to offer a sincere apology.
"We are surprised you are pursuing this. It was a nasty campaign against a woman. You attacked her dignity directly, in such a brazen and abrupt manner," the bench stated firmly.
The justices also expressed suspicion that Shekher might have harassed other women previously but faced consequences this time because a journalist association confronted him.
Shekher's legal representative, Advocate Balaji Srinivasan, claimed his client forwarded the message without reading it and removed it within an hour. The counsel requested four weeks to approach the complainant with an unconditional apology, which the court granted while exempting Shekher from surrender until the next hearing.
The case originated in 2018 when Shekher shared content with allegedly offensive remarks about a female journalist, prompting widespread condemnation and a complaint from a journalist association. Authorities filed charges against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.
A special court convicted Shekher in February 2023, sentencing him to one month's imprisonment plus a fine. Though he appealed, the Madras High Court upheld the conviction in January 2024, while suspending the sentence for 90 days to allow his Supreme Court appeal.
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