New Delhi, Jan 14,2023: Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking protection in the multiple cases registered against her for depicting Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette in a poster of her documentary titled after the Hindu deity.

The matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on Friday. The top court has scheduled the matter for hearing on January 20.

The plea in the apex court sought a direction to quash all the FIRs registered against the filmmaker in various states over the poster of her documentary titled ‘Kaali’.

The plea sought to quash the multiple FIRs registered in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand on complaints against the poster of the documentary. The plea has also sought a stay on the proceedings in the meantime, besides seeking action against those who issued threats to her on social media.

The plea contended that the petitioner did not attempt to offend the religious sentiments of any person. The filmmaker claimed that she had also received open calls for violence against her and her family after she tweeted the poster of the documentary.

The petitioner submitted that multiple FIRs amount to infringement of her constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to freedom of expression.