Kerala Court Orders Investigation After Man Alleges His Mobile Number Was Displayed In Malayalam Film 'Officer On Duty'

An Ernakulam court directed the jurisdictional police authorities to initiate an investigation into a private complaint wherein complainant has alleged identity theft, privacy violation, etc., claiming that his mobile number was allegedly displayed in Kunchacko Boban-starrer Malayalam film 'Officer on Duty'.

The complainant alleged that his personal mobile number, which he has been using since 2014 and linked with his Aadhar, PAN and bank accounts, was allegedly displayed in the film. He has alleged that he received multiple unsolicited calls on his number, causing him severe distress and inconvenience.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Devika Lal, observed:

"Complainant represented. Heard the counsel for complainant already. Call for submission U/s 175(3) BNSS from the SHO concerned."

Section 175 BNSS deals with the police officer's power to investigate cognizable case. As per sub-section (3), a Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of offences can order a police investigation.

The present complaint has been preferred against Martin Prakkat, Siby Chavara, Renjith Nair, Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., Meta Technology Platforms Pvt. Ltd., Whatsapp, Nodal Officers of Bharti Airtel and others.

The movie was released in theatres in February 2025 and later, began streaming on Netflix in March 2025 and started telecasting on Zee Keralam. With the release, the movie became globally accessible in multiple languages.

It was only recently that the complainant came to know that his personal mobile number was displayed in a scene in the movie, being used by a character depicted as a female doctor.

He has stated that he has been subjected to abusive, threatening, and vulgar communication from unknown individuals across multiple countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabic, etc.

"The nature of these calls and messages is not merely offensive but is characterised by sadistic, sexually explicit, and, at times, outright terroristic content. As a direct result, the petitioner has been left in a state of perpetual fear, anxiety, and psychological distress," it is stated in the complaint.

The complainant has stated that though he filed a formal complaint before the Cyber Cell, Kochi, it was to no avail since it was conveyed to him that the department did not lack jurisdiction to initiate criminal proceedings.

He also filed complaints before the Deputy Inspector General of India and the Deputy Commissioner of Police but even then no investigation has been conducted. He further attempted to contact the filmmakers but was unable to reach to them.

The complainant submitted that there was violation of his right to privacy and other fundamental rights due to the non-masking of the mobile number. He has cited provisions of the Information Technology Act that have been violated as well.

Further, he has also alleged violation of statutory due diligence and non-compliance with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Techonology (MeitY) Advisory, particularly by the OTT platforms and Meta, being intermediaries bound by the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Left with no other remedy, the complainant had approached the Magistrate court with a private complaint seeking a direction to register an FIR and a comprehensive investigation by the SHO, Thrikkakkara. He has also sought direction to the Cyber Cell to conduct a thorough and time-bound technical investigation into the case.

Further, he has prayed for the issuance of directions for the search and seizure of all computers, servers, storage media and other electronic accessories of the respondents that facilitated the commission of identity theft and cyber harassment connected to the production and editing of the movie.

The plea is moved by Advocates Sukesh Roy T., Meera Menon and Divya A.R.

Case No: Crl. MP(Complaint)/4251/2026

Case Title: XXX v. Martin Prakkat and Ors.