07 March 2020, Saturday, marked the cross-examination of director Susi Ganesan in the 9th Metropolitan Magistrates court in Saidapet, Chennai. Susi has filed a criminal defamation case against independent filmmaker Leena Manimekalai, about her Facebook post accusing him of sexual assault published during the #MeToo movement. The case reached trial stage last week, presided by Judge Mohanambal S. Susi Ganesan himself took stand as prosecution witness 1.
Last Friday, 28 February 2020, was the first day of cross-examination. Leena Manimekalai’s lawyer Advocate Ramalingam questioned Susi Ganesan on the claims he has made in his complaint pertaining to his past accomplishments and film credentials. This included Susi Ganesan’s assertions about his position as a student leader while at university, his credentials as a journalist in Vikatan, and later as an assistant director to Mani Ratnam. Ramalingam received explanation and clarification of these claims on record. The next hearing was posted to 07 March 2020.
Yesterday, Ramalingam continued his cross-examination of Susi Ganesan, questioning him about Leena’s social media posts which he has presented as evidence. This includes posts criticising the BJP government for imprisoning Lois Sophia, condemning governor Banwarilal Purohit’s unwelcome physical contact with journalist Lakshmi Subramanian, participating in the #GoBackModi hashtag etc.
Susi Ganesan stated in court that he presented these as evidence to show Leena Manimekalai’s ‘mananilai’ (state of mind). He said that these documents are proof that Leena is the kind of person to call a constitutional authority — referring to the Governor — a sexual predator and the Prime Minister a thodanadungi (a derogatory term meaning coward).
Ramalingam established that Leena is simply one of the thousands of people who have raised objection to the Modi government and the Governor. Others who have done so include the DMK and MP Kanimozhi. These posts merely show that Leena is a politically conscious person who registers her comments boldly and openly. The court took this on record.
This article was first published on www.silverscreen.in Susi Ganesan had many more such bizarre defences. Read the full version of what happened here