BENGALURU: A Sessions Court in city on Thursday directed the trial court to take cognizance of a complaint filed by actress-turned politician Divya Spanadana, popularly known as Ramya, against a private Kannada TV channel for allegedly defaming her.

Referring to a programme broadcast by the channel titled ‘Betting Raniyaru’ in 2013, Sessions Court judge G D Mahavarkar said, “Ramya has high-stake reputation in the society as a celebrity, as a famous actress in South Indian film industry and an active political personality and also the then brand ambassador of IPL. Flashing defaming captions along with her portrait in electronic media certainly leads to her defamation.”