Kerala HC declines to entertain PIL against 'The Kerala Story 2'
Kochi (PTI): The Kerala High Court on Thursday declined to entertain a PIL seeking to change the title of the film 'The Kerala Story 2-Goes Beyond' and pulled up the petitioners for casting aspersions on the division bench, which paved the way for the movie's release.
A bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M was severely critical of certain remarks in the public interest litigation by Chandramohanan K C, a retired teacher and social activist, and Mehnaz P Mohammed, a lawyer.
When the matter was taken up, the bench pointed out that petitions related to the movie were pending before a single judge bench and a division bench and therefore, it would not be appropriate for it to take up the PIL.
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Chief Justice Sen said it would be better that the division bench, which is hearing the appeal by the film's producers, hears the instant matter.
However, when it noted certain remarks in the PIL, filed through advocate Chelson Chembarathy, the bench-headed by the Chief Justice was displeased and questioned how such comments were included in the petition.
It criticised the petitioners and their advocate for filing such a PIL, following which advocate Chembarathy apologised unconditionally several times.
The bench, thereafter, disposed of the PIL and allowed the petitioners to file a fresh plea after removing the portions which cast an aspersion on the division bench, which paved way for the movie's release.
A bench of justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan had on February 27 paved for the film's release by staying a single judge order of the same day, putting on hold the movie's screening for 15 days.
The interim order by the division bench had come on an appeal moved by the film's producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
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Man booked for duping firm of Rs 6 cr by posing as Infosys CSR official
Bengaluru (PTI): An FIR has been registered against a man and his accomplices for allegedly cheating a firm of Rs 6 crore by falsely claiming to be associated with an IT company and promising to facilitate CSR funds for its projects, police said on Friday.
The crime is said to have taken place between September 1, 2025 and March 20, 2026, and after consultation with legal experts the company decided to file a complaint at the Devanahalli police station here, they said.
The FIR was registered on March 30 following a complaint by Mysore Mercantile Company, alleging that a person named Gagan N Deep approached them, posing as the Regional Head (CSR) at Infosys Ltd, they said.
According to the FIR, Deep claimed he reported to senior officials - Harsh J, Senior Regional Manager - Infrastructure, Facilities Operation, Public Relations and CSR Works, and Niladri Prasad Mishra, Senior Vice President and Head - Global Infrastructure and Climate Action.
The FIR alleged that the accused expressed interest in the activities of their associated trust, Heggunje Rajeeva Shetty Charitable Trust, Bangalore, and assured facilitation of CSR funds from Infosys Ltd.
It further stated that the accused sent a team of four to five individuals representing Infosys, including persons identified as Chethan and Tejas, to Udupi, Mangaluru and other places to verify the trust’s activities.
According to the complaint, the accused subsequently induced the complainant to pay an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to alleged regular vendors of Infosys as a condition for approval of CSR grants.
The complainant stated that a total amount of Rs 6 crore was paid, including Rs 1.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of Anitha Ventures and Rs 3.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of ANS Engineerings, apart from an additional cash payment of Rs 30 lakh allegedly handed over to the accused through his driver near Nandi Upachar Hotel in Devanahalli, as per his instructions.
The FIR further alleged that the accused issued a purported sanction letter dated October 21, 2025, allegedly from Infosys bearing the signature of Mishra, and executed a grant agreement dated January 8, 2026 between Infosys and the charitable trust for the construction of more than 855 houses across Karnataka with a total grant of Rs 179 crore.
Another grant agreement dated January 13, 2026 was also executed for construction of primary health care centres across the state with a total grant of Rs 178 crore, it stated.
However, the complainant later suspected that the representations made by the accused were false, the documents were fabricated, and the entire transaction was fraudulent in nature, as the accused dishonestly induced them to part with substantial amounts under the pretext of EMD for CSR grants.
"Despite repeated follow-ups neither has any grant materialised nor have the amounts been returned, and the accused is now unresponsive and deliberately avoiding communication," the FIR added.
A case has been registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), Section 319(2) (cheating by personation), Section 336(3) (forgery for the purpose of cheating), police said, adding that further investigation into the matter is underway.
Efforts are being made to nab the suspects in the case, they added.
