Cases against Upendra under Atrocities Act: Karnataka HC stays one more FIR

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday stayed proceedings under the Atrocities Act against Kannada film star Upendra in another case registered with the Halasuru Gate police station. The actor was booked for allegedly using a derogatory proverb about Dalits in a Facebook live programme on August 12, 2023.

Justice Hemant Chandanagoudar passed the interim order in the petition filed by the actor, challenging the proceedings based on the FIR registered by the Halasuru Gate police. The court said that the interim order is applicable to all FIRs pertaining to this incident.

The Halasuru Gate FIR was registered under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and also under IPC sections 505(1)(C), 153A and 295A, based on a complaint by one Bharat Harish Kumar, President, Karnataka Ranadheera Pade.

On Monday, the court stayed an FIR registered at the Chennammanakere Achukattu police station. Incidentally, two more complaints have been filed against the actor in relation to the very incident.

In an interaction aired live on his Facebook and Instagram accounts on August 12, 2023, referring to negative comments about his political outfit, Upendra had said that criticisms are part of life and cited a proverb in Kannada that mentions ‘Holeyas’.

In his petition, Upendra claimed that the use of the Kannada proverb during the interaction had nothing to do with Dalits. The actor stated that he had no intention of insulting people belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. The petition stated that the actor had clarified this subsequently and had also tendered an apology.