Court quashes cases against Suhasini

A day after the Supreme Court quashed two dozen defamation cases against actor Khusboo, the Madras High Court on April 29 quashed criminal proceedings pending before magistrate courts in the state against actor Suhasini Maniratnam.

Suhasini had spoken up for actor Khushboo, when she came under attack from certain sections in the state for her observations on pre-marital sex in an interview.

Recalling the period when cases were filed against her one after another, Suhasini said, "I got summons every day. It was a traumatic period. People around me were scared."

Hailing the verdict, Suhasini said, "A five year nuisance has been removed thanks to the court order. Some 20 odd people with no work filed the cases for whatever reasons of their own. I merely spoke my mind out on the issue raised over Khusboo's interview. Khusboo suffered a lot, for me it was only an irritant."

"Khusboo's comments were made in the context of AIDS, but without understanding that clearly, many had resorted to agitations and protests," she said.