The Madras High Court on Wednesday asked filmmaker Leena Manimekalai and Kollywood director Susi Ganesan to appear before it on November 1 to ascertain the possibility of mediation in a criminal defamation case filed against her for having accused him of sexual harassment.
Justice R. Mahadevan asked the counsel for both parties to ensure their presence. The judge was seized of a writ petition filed by the filmmaker against impounding of her passport by the Regional Passport Officer (RPO) in the city by citing the pendency of the criminal case.
During the course of the hearing, a counsel representing the RPO stated that the passport was impounded after issuing a show cause notice to the petitioner, and after affording her an opportunity of a hearing. He said the passport could be released only if she obtained a court order. When the judge pointed out that the petitioner had neither committed any economic offence nor was facing any grave charges to curtail her right to travel, the counsel said the RPO was concerned only about the pendency of a criminal case and not about the seriousness of the charges.
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The petitioner’s counsel Abudu Kumar Rajarathinam said she had been put to tremendous hardship because of the impounding of her passport and lost great opportunities of learning just because she could not travel. It was then, the judge suggested a resolution through mediation.