New Delhi: As the Madras High Court quashed criminal proceedings against renowned Bharatnatyam dancer and former director of the Kalakshetra Foundation Leela Samson after a settlement, what remains for Athena Sadiq is relief. The 27-year-old said she never imagined her years of training at Chennai’s Kalakshetra Foundation would give way to courtrooms, police complaints, and a battle to reclaim her identity as a dancer.
The court on 17 March quashed a criminal case against Samson after she settled the matter by paying Rs 8 lakh to Sadiq. The case stemmed from a December 2022 Facebook post in which Samson described Sadiq — then a dance intern — as the “mistress” of a male faculty member.
“Taking into consideration that the petitioner and the second respondent have resolved their issue, and since the offence under Section 509 IPC is compoundable in nature, this court, in exercise of its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, is inclined to quash the proceedings,” Justice M Nirmal Kumar wrote. The case had been booked under Section 509 (insult to the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.
Samson had put out the Facebook post on 23 December 2022. Aggrieved by the uproar it triggered, Sadiq lodged a police complaint on 23 March 2023, stating that the derogatory remarks had caused immense trauma in both her personal and professional life.
Following a complaint, police registered an FIR in 2023 under Section 509 of the IPC and later filed a chargesheet after examining multiple witnesses. The case was pending trial before a magistrate court in Chennai.
Parallelly, Sadiq had filed a civil suit, which was referred to mediation. The parties eventually reached a settlement, with Samson expressing regret and agreeing to certain terms, including the payment of Rs 8 lakh, following which Sadiq consented to the quashing of the criminal proceedings.
For Sadiq, however, the legal process itself became another battle. She alleges that the FIR was initially not registered, forcing her to approach a magistrate court for directions. “They closed the case saying there wasn’t enough material. I had to go to court to get the FIR filed,” she said.
She also claimed that statements were altered during the investigation and that several individuals initially named were dropped from the chargesheet. “Even my statement and my friends’ statements were changed,” she said, adding that she has challenged aspects of the investigation separately.
The fallout from the 2022 post, Sadiq said, was immediate and isolating. The 27-year-old, originally from Kerala, had spent over seven years at the Kalakshetra Foundation, including as a dance intern at its Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts.
“If there were 100 students, 99 didn’t believe me,” she told ThePrint. “People who didn’t know me personally believed what was being said. I was seen as an enemy.”
ThePrint reached out to Leela Samson for her response, but she declined to comment.
‘Apology, not money’
At the time of the incident, Sadiq was part of the performing repertoire and had limited interaction with students, she said, which meant that many formed their opinions without knowing her personally. The controversy forced her to leave Kalakshetra and return to her hometown in Kerala for nearly a year. “I didn’t feel like coming back. I just left,” she said.
Despite being advised to drop the matter, Sadiq said she chose to pursue legal action. “There were many times people told me to leave it. But I knew who I was,” she said. “I felt sad, discouraged and alone but you have to stand firm on the truth.”
Samson’s post triggered widespread discussion within the Kalakshetra Foundation over allegations of misconduct involving faculty members. In the post and subsequent comments, Samson made references linking a male faculty member to Athena Sadiq, naming her.
A 2023 report by ThePrint highlighted allegations against multiple faculty members, including Hari Padman, bringing wider attention to the issue. Padman was arrested in April 2023 on allegations of sexual harassment. He was later released on bail and has denied wrongdoing.
Even as the case stretched over two years, Sadiq said her objective remained unchanged. “My aim was never the money,” she said. “I wanted a public apology. The same way it was put out publicly, it had to be taken back publicly.”
Also read: The real D in Dhurandhar—Who is Bade Sahab in Aditya Dhar’s spy thriller
The apology and the return
In June 2025, Samson took to Facebook to express regret for the post. “On December 23, 2022, I put a post on Athena, former student and presently Tutor at the Kalakshetra Foundation, on Facebook. I had wrongly mentioned her name in connection with a male faculty. I regret the error and no further comments will be made by me on her in the future,” she wrote in a post.
The experience, Sadiq said, also reshaped how she views authority in the arts. “We should admire artists for their art, not their personal lives,” she said. “An artist can be brilliant on stage, but not necessarily in their moral life.”
After a year away, Sadiq returned to Kalakshetra — this time as a faculty member. The transition, she said, was initially difficult.
“In the beginning, it was very cold. No one spoke to me. Students were hesitant,” she said. Over time, interactions improved, though not entirely. “Now we are colleagues. We speak where necessary.”
Sadiq said the experience also revealed how power operates within artistic communities. “When someone with power and recognition says something, people tend to believe it without questioning. That is what happened in my case.”
She added that while many in the Bharatanatyam community had rallied against her at the time, their silence now has been telling. “When I was speaking out, everyone was against me. Now, after the judgment, there is no response. That is the saddest part,” she said.
The impact of the episode lingered. “I became very famous, but not as a dancer,” she said. “I was known for something else. I want to change that. I want to be recognised for my art.”
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)