Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday defended the Palarivattom police’s decision not to register a case over a complaint filed by actor Ansiba Hassan against fellow actor Lakshmipriya over an alleged defamatory video following a preliminary inquiry.Addressing media here, the Home Minister rubbished Ms. Hassan’s allegation that the District Police Chief (Kochi city) had misled him in connection with her complaint.Earlier in a social media post, Ms. Hassan said she had approached the Home Minister seeking help to prevent publishing an interview of Ms. Lakshmipriya on YouTube which contained alleged defamatory content against her. She said when Mr. Chennithala enquired about the matter, the Kochi City police lied to the Minister that an FIR was already registered on the complaint. She said the police were trying to write off her complaint by reporting it as a defamation incident.The Kerala government on Thursday informed the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court that no criminal case can be registered on Ms. Hassan’s complaint against Ms. Lakshmipriya saying that the allegations disclosed only a case of defamation and did not warrant registration of an FIR by the police. It contended that the complainant’s remedy was to pursue a private defamation complaint before the competent court.The minister pointed out that investigations were on into the cases registered over the actor’s previous complaints following court orders. The cases pertain to alleged harassment by Ms. Lakshmipriya and a female police officer as well as alleged defamatory and communal remarks made by actor Tini Tom. The minister said the police had refused to file FIRs initially as they found no prima facie substance in the complaints. Published - July 11, 2026 08:30 pm IST