Kamaal R Khan moves Bombay High Court to quash FIR for tweet about actor Dhanush

Bollywood actor and self-proclaimed film critic Kamaal R Khan has approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash a first information report (FIR) lodged against him in 2017 over allegedly offensive remarks he made about Tamil actor Dhanush on Twitter..The FIR lodged at Bandra Police Station under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has accused Khan of making derogatory comments against the actor and the co-actors who work with him.In his petition filed through advocate Sana Raees Khan, Khan has claimed that the FIR was filed “maliciously” and lacked any merit. He has further requested that all legal proceedings against him be stayed pending the disposal of his petition. “The petitioner is an innocent man falsely and maliciously implicated in the present case with no fault on his part,” Khan’s plea states.Khan, a permanent resident of Mumbai currently based in Dubai, has claimed he was unaware of the FIR for three years, only being informed about it in 2020.The case stems from a tweet posted by Khan in 2017, in which he allegedly said, “I can't understand how can any girl allow this bhanggi dhanushraja to even touch her Yukkki! He is really dirty,” The tweet was accompanied by an image of Dhanush and another “obscene image.”The tweet, which was seen by many as a personal attack on Dhanush, led to the FIR under Section 509 IPC, which criminalizes words, gestures or acts intended to insult a woman’s modesty. However, Khan has denied any intention to insult a woman and has argued that the tweet had no direct connection to any female.The offence under Section 509 is not "prima facie made out" against the present petitioner since the tweet did not specifically target any woman nor did it contain any gestures meant to insult a woman’s modesty, Khan has contended..Khan has also raised concerns about the FIR’s vagueness, noting that it does not mention critical details such as the specific Twitter handle, the exact tweet or the date when it was posted.The actor has also questioned the legality of the FIR, pointing out that it was filed by a police officer and not by an “aggrieved person,” rendering it legally unsustainable.Pertinently, the petition has also highlighted the delay in informing him about the FIR, noting that although it was filed in 2017, Khan was only made aware of it in 2020.Despite the passage of more than seven years, a chargesheet is yet to be filed in the case, Khan has pointed out.Even if the tweet were inappropriate, Khan insists it should still be protected under the right to free speech guaranteed by the Constitution.A Division Bench of the High Court is expected to hear the matter this week.