The Kerala High Court on Wednesday quashed the criminal case against actor Sreenath Bhasi, who was charged for allegedly verbally abusing the anchor of a YouTube channel. The court held that the dispute in the case is purely personal in nature and that no public interest or harmony would be adversely affected by quashing the proceedings.
Earlier, the police arrested Sreenath Bhasi for verbally abusing a female anchor in an interview given to a youtube channel. He was arrested by Maradu police in Kochi and later released on bail on 26 September.
A case was filed under IPC 509, 354(A), and 294 against the actor. The anchor had filed a complaint with the state women’s commission earlier.
It is alleged that a video shows Sreenath lashing out at the interviewer/anchor after they tell him to rank his co-stars based on their ‘rowdiness.’ While the interviewer asked the question in a lighthearted manner, given that the film’s title is ‘Chattambi’, which means ‘rowdy’, the question wasn’t liked by Sreenath. He asked the journalists if they had no intention of getting better at their jobs. He shouted, “I’m pissed off right now” and also used the F-word.
Earlier, the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFhad temporarily banned Malayalam actor.
