Case filed against Pottiye song writer

T'puram: The Thiruvananthapuram cyber police have registered a case for hurting religious sentiments against the writer of the parody song ‘Pottiye Kettiye' that went viral during the local body election campaign, following a complaint that it misused an Ayyappa devotional song. G P Kunjabdulla of Chalappuram, Kozhikode, who is currently working in Qatar, penned the lyrics.Thiruvabharana Patha Samrakshana Samithi, which filed the complaint, alleged that the sacred ‘Pallikettu Sabarimalakku' was distorted for political messaging. The state police chief had forwarded the complaint to the ADGP (law and order) to examine whether any penal provisions were attracted and whether a criminal case was legally sustainable.The parody also triggered political reactions, including from the CPM, which demanded action against the song. Party functionaries said invoking Lord Ayyappa and devotional songs for electoral purposes was inappropriate and offensive to devotees.CPM Pathanamthitta district secretary Raju Abraham said parodying devotional songs linked to any religion was unacceptable and that complaints raised in this regard should be examined seriously. Rajya Sabha MP A A Rahim also criticised the parody and called for action.The song, which circulated widely on social media platforms during the campaign, makes direct references to the Sabarimala gold heist. It alleges that Unnikrishnan Potti, named as the first accused in the case, was taken to Sabarimala and gold was stolen from the temple, attributing the act to CPM workers. Supreme Court lawyer and legal expert M R Abhilash argued in a social media post that the song highlighted the political and criminal dimensions of the gold heist case without denigrating Lord Ayyappa or undermining devotional beliefs. If the song offends anyone, he said, it is only those who fear that it would help register the gravity of the case in public mind.Abhilash said that under BNS section 299, a case for hurting religious sentiments can be registered only if there is a conscious intention to insult or wound religious beliefs through words, writing or other forms of communication. Such provisions would apply only if the deity or the core beliefs associated with Sabarimala were mocked or ridiculed, he said.Referring to the FIR registered in the gold heist case on the basis of high court directions, Abhilash argued that naming those accused of leading the theft amounts to an exercise of both freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and freedom of worship under Article 25.