In the year 2020, a video of Fathima went viral, depicting her partially naked with her minor children’s artwork on her body. She was subsequently apprehended, and her bail requests were repeatedly denied.

Who is Rehana Fathima?

1. In her appeal to the Kerala high court, Rehana Fathima argued that the body painting was intended as a political statement against society’s default view that the female upper body is sexualized in all contexts, while the male upper body is not sexualized by default.

2. Earlier, the woman was also charged by police in Pathanamthitta district under the Information Technology Act and the Juvenile Justice Act on a complaint lodged by BJP OBC Morcha leader AV Arun Prakash.

3. Fathima was also in the news after she had attempted to access the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala after the Supreme Court allowed women of menstruating age to do so, and was targeted by certain groups for it.

This is not the first time Fathima has made headlines, however. In 2014, she had participated in the controversial ‘Kiss of love’ protest in Kochi against moral policing along with her companion Manoj K Sreedhar.

5. Earlier, she had attempted to challenge bastions of male dominance by participating in the annual Onam tiger dance (Pulikali) in Thrissur, a popular event that typically attracts all-male troupes.

Fathima was born into an orthodox Muslim family that compelled her to attend classes at a madrassa and perform the daily prayers five times. However, after her father’s death, Fathima reported that her understanding of religion shifted significantly.

What is the Kerala high court say?

1. In discharging Fathima, Justice Kauser Edappagath of the Kerala high court stated on Monday that it was impossible to infer from the allegations against the 33-year-old activist that her children were used for real or simulated sexual acts and for sexual gratification.

The court stated that she only permitted her body to be used as a canvas by her offspring.

The judge stated that it was “harsh” to classify such a “innocent artistic expression” as a real or simulated sexual act involving a minor. “There is no evidence that the minors were used for pornographic purposes. The video contains no sexual overtones. The court ruled that painting on the bare upper body of a male or woman cannot be considered a sexually explicit act.

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4. It further said that nude display of the upper body of males is never considered obscene or indecent and is not sexualised, but “a female body is not treated in the same way”.

5. The court added that some consider female nudity to be prohibited and only for erotic purposes, and Fathima’s intention in distributing the video was to “expose this double standard prevalent in society.” “Nudity should not be associated with sexuality. The mere site of a woman’s bare upper body should not automatically be considered sexual. So also, the depiction of the nude body of a woman cannot per se be termed to be obscene, indecent, or sexually explicit,” Justice Edappagath said.

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In addition, the Additional Solicitor General revealed that M Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary of the Kerala CMO, is the mastermind behind this scheme.

ED disclosed the information during the hearing on M. Sivasankar’s parole petition in the LIFE Mission Scam Case. Unique Court of Justice A Badharudeen carefully examined the petition.

ED also informed the court that the money discovered in the compartment belonged to Sivasankar. In this regard, we have received statements from Chartered Accountants Venugopal and Swapna Suresh. (prime accused). The accused attempted to fund terrorism through the use of illicit funds. Sivasankar was the focal point of everything. Additional documents pertaining to the transaction must be seized. Even when he was previously apprehended, he was granted bail based on health concerns. The rationale for granting bail on the basis of illness is invalid.”

ED also stated that “petitioner collected this money, which constitutes bribe money; therefore, the Prevention of Corruption Act applies.” According to the case files, the investigation is still in its preliminary stages. According to the evidence provided by the respondent, money laundering offenses have far-reaching consequences. In addition, the petitioner has actively participated in all transactions. In this instance, 1,900 thousand dollars have also passed through diplomatic channels. Therefore, it has a transnational nature. Sivasankar is the mastermind who orchestrated the entire operation from the start. If released on bond, he could hinder the investigation.”

The court questioned whether the ED had previously arrested Sivasankar in relation to the money discovered in Swapna Suresh’s locker and how a second case was being pursued in relation to the same locker. As a result of their investigation into gold smuggling transactions, the ED was convinced of the LIFE Mission fraud case, according to their response. The court questioned whether the second allegation could not have been investigated in the initial case itself.

Considering the convenience of Sivasankar’s attorney, the continuation of the case’s argument has been postponed until tomorrow.

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On March 2, a Special PMLA Court in Kochi denied Sivasankar’s parole application and extended his detention until March 21. Sivasankar had filed the petition for medical release. He asserted that the detention was a “political stunt.”

The post ED to Kerala HC: Life Mission scam black money transaction supported terrorism appeared first on Republic Aeon.

Noting that Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate A Raja is a Christian convert from the scheduled tribe community, which makes him ineligible to contest the seat, the Kerala high court on Monday nullified his 2021 state assembly election victory in the Devikulam (Idukki) assembly constituency.

The high court order was issued after Congress candidate D Kumar challenged Raja’s election in the reserved constituency of Devikulam on the grounds that his caste certificate was “forged.”

The lone judge, P Somarajan, also ordered the deposed lawmaker to stand trial for allegedly fabricating documents. However, the court denied Kumar’s request to be declared the victor in the constituency.

In the 2021 state assembly elections, Raja defeated Kumar of the Congress by a margin of 7,847 ballots in the Devikulam district. During the examination of nomination papers, Kumar raised the issue of alleged “forged documents” by Raja, but the returning officer rejected his claim.

“It is the triumph of truth. “By fielding an outsider, the ruling CPI(M) has insulted the SC/ST community, and he should apologise for forging documents,” said Kumar.

The petitioner submitted the wedding album of Raja and other evidence to support his claim. He also claimed that his wife was a practising Christian, that their marriage took place in a church, and that a cross was engraved on her wedding locket.

Raja argued that he belonged to the Paraya community and was not a Christian.

Raja, who attended the assembly proceedings and heard the verdict, stated that he will submit an appeal against the  high court’s decision after consulting with his political party.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) are left with 98 members in the 140-member House following Raja’s disqualification. The CPM chose Raja in the last election after sidelining three-time legislator S Rajendran, who was subsequently denied a seat.

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In 1957, CPI lawmaker Rosamma Punnoos became the nation’s first MLA to lose her seat as a result of a court order in the same constituency where the election was cancelled for the first time. The following year, she was re-elected from the same district with a larger margin.

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