Offences of sedition and promoting religious enmity are not prima facie attracted against filmmaker and activist Aisha Sultana for her ‘COVID as bio-weapon’ remark against the centrail government. This is what the Kerala high court ruled while granting her anticipatory bail. Justice Ashok Menon was considering a petition filed by Aisha, seeking pre-arrest bail in the case registered by the Kavaratti police in Lakshadweep for sedition (section 124A of the IPC) and promoting religious enmity (section 153A IPC).
Aisha had said in a television interview on a Malayalam channel that the central government used COVID-19 as a bio-weapon against the inhabitants of Lakshadweep. In the judgement, the court said that the offences alleged by the prosecution are prima facie not attracted.