The Kerala judiciary has taken action following a complaint by an individual who asserted that his personal mobile number was displayed in the Malayalam film ‘Officer on Duty’ without his consent, resulting in a barrage of unsolicited calls and harassment. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Devika Lal, ordered a preliminary investigation on May 29, requesting a detailed report from the local police under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. The police have been instructed to submit their findings by June 11, 2026.
The complainant alleged that the display of his mobile number without authorization constituted violations under the Information Technology Act, 2000. Specifically, he cited Section 66C, which addresses identity theft, and Section 66D, concerning cheating by personation using computer resources. The complaint also referenced the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Board) Rules, 2021.
Among those named in the complaint are ‘Officer on Duty’ producer Martin Prakkat, co-producers Sibi Chavara and Renjith Nair, as well as Netflix, Zee Entertainment, Meta, and WhatsApp. The complainant, an IT professional residing in Ernakulam, stated that his active personal mobile number was shown in a scene of the film without his knowledge or consent. This resulted in numerous unsolicited calls and messages that caused him significant distress and inconvenience.
According to the complainant, his number appeared during a climactic scene where it was depicted as the contact number of a character portrayed as a doctor. He emphasized that this number had been in his exclusive use for several years, linked to critical personal and professional services like bank accounts, Aadhaar, PAN, and other essential communications.
The issue escalated after the film’s release on Netflix in March 2025, with calls and messages originating from different parts of India and abroad. The nature of these communications was described as offensive, including sadistic, sexually explicit, and sometimes terroristic content, leading to severe psychological distress for the complainant.
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The complainant noted that despite lodging complaints with the Cyber cell and addressing representations to the film’s producers, no effective measures were undertaken. This inaction compelled him to seek judicial intervention for the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) and a comprehensive police investigation. The complaint was filed through advocates Sukesh Roy, Meera Menon, and Divya AR.
