Aisha Sultana moves Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail in sedition case

Lakshadweep-based filmmaker Aisha Sultana has approached the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a sedition case filed against her.

An FIR was registered against her on sedition charges after she, in a TV debate, said the Centre deployed Covid-19 as a 'bio weapon' against the people of Lakshadweep.

Aisha Sultana is an actor, activist and filmmaker from Lakshadweep. She is a native of Chetlat island of the Union Territory. With the Malayalam movie ‘Flush’, Sultana had made her debut as a director. She has also worked as an associate director of another Malayalam film 'Kettyolaanu Ente Malaakha’. Often being vocal about social issues of Lakshadweep, Sultana is seen actively protesting against the recent political crisis in the UT.

On June 9, a sedition case was registered against Sultana by the Kavaratti police because the filmmaker allegedly said that the Centre was using Covid-19 as a bioweapon on the people of Lakshadweep.

The case was registered with charges of sedition (IPC 124A) on the basis of a petition filed by BJP Lakshadweep president Abdulkhader Haji.

She allegedly made the remark during a discussion on a Malayalam news channel regarding the current resentment and protests in Lakshadweep over proposed legislation and reform measures.