Overview

• Sasthamcotta police registered FIR No. 1555/2025 under BNS sections 223, 192 and 3(5) after a floral display resembling an RSS saffron flag was placed near Sree Parthasarathy Temple.
• Officers clarified the case concerns the flag-like design, flagpoles and a flex of Chhatrapati Shivaji about 50 metres from the temple, not the words “Operation Sindoor” written in flowers.
• The complaint by temple office-bearer Asokan C. said the display was set up without permission next to the committee’s own pookkalam in violation of court orders and past warnings.
• BJP leaders, including state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, demanded the FIR be withdrawn, calling it “seditious” and an insult to victims and the armed forces, while police warned against misleading claims.
• The temple has a history of political clashes, and a 2020 Kerala High Court directive—reaffirmed in 2023—bars flags and party installations within 100 metres of the premises.