Kaali director booked in India, bringing her back will be uphill challenge

Getting an accused to face the law is a challenging task when the person is abroad. Legal experts are of the view that in such cases bringing the probe to a logical conclusion becomes difficult. 

Multiple cases have been filed against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai across India, including in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, for the poster of her film featuring Goddess Kali. Leena has been charged with promoting enmity between different communities on grounds of religion, outraging religious feelings intentionally and intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace.

The FIRs were filed after the filmmaker tweeted the poster of her documentary, titled “Kaali”, in which the goddess has been shown smoking a cigarette and holding an LGBTQ flag.

However, getting an accused to face the law is a challenging task when the person is abroad. Legal experts are of the view that in such cases bringing the probe to a logical conclusion becomes difficult.

Also Read: | 'My Kaali is queer, destroys capitalism', says Kaali filmmaker Leena Manimekalai

“As a matter of law, the police in India are empowered to investigate a person outside the territory of India for a crime that is committed on Indian soil. However, the method involved is long drawn and I see no hope for the police in India to be able to investigate Leena in a country like Canada,” Supreme Court lawyer KV Dhananjay told India Today TV.

“To begin with, the state government and the Union government should first reach a consensus that it is necessary to investigate Leena on foreign soil. If such a consensus is reached, they would have to request the authorities in Canada to permit our police to confront Leena on their soil. Canadian courts take the liberty of an individual seriously and they might simply scoff at the accusations levelled against the filmmaker. In fact, the Indian government could turn into a laughing stock for the world should it pursue Leena on Canadian soil. The FIR against Leena is only fit for domestic consumption,” he added.

“Police try to investigate a case and file a chargesheet if an offence is made out. If the accused is an Indian citizen, custody may be sought and obtained through several processes, including the cancellation of a passport. If the accused is not a citizen, extradition may be sought, but rarely does a country extradite its own citizen for trial in a foreign country,” senior advocate Sanjay Hegde told India Today TV.