Published Oct 27, 2026 | 11:35 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 27, 2026 | 11:35 AM
Dr Rajasree has filed a defamation suit against Dr Vinayasree in the Thalassery Munsiff Court, seeking ₹5 lakh in damages.
Synopsis: Malayalam writer Dr Vinayasree has accused Dr R Rajasree of plagiarism, alleging that scenes and narrative elements in her Vayalar award-winning novel Aathreyakam resemble material in three of her own novels based on the Mahabharata. Dr Vinayasree has asked the Vayalar Award Selection Committee to reconsider the award, but the committee has stood by its decision. Dr Rajasree has filed a defamation case in the Thalassery Munsiff Court, seeking ₹5 lakh in damages.
Malayalam writer Dr Vinayasree has accused fellow writer Dr R Rajasree of plagiarism, alleging that more than a dozen scenes and narrative elements in Aathreyakam, which won the 50th Vayalar Ramavarma Literary Award, resemble passages in three of her own novels.
Dr Vinayasree has filed a complaint with the secretary of the Vayalar Award Selection Committee, seeking a reconsideration of the award.
Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan is scheduled to present the award to Rajasree at 5.30 pm at Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, 27 October, the death anniversary of poet Vayalar Ramavarma.
The award carries a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, a bronze sculpture by Kanayi Kunhiraman and a citation. Rajasree, who teaches at Government Brennen College in Thalassery, was selected for the award by a jury comprising OV Usha, Subhash Chandran and V Vijayakumar. She won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2021 for her novel Kalyaniyennum Dakshayaniyennum Peraya Randu Sthreekalude Katha.
Dr Vinayasree alleged similarities in character portrayals, dialogues, the development of ideas and the sequence of events in Aathreyakam and her novels Panchaliyude Ezhu Rathrikal (2018), Hidumbi (2018) and Shikhandi (2019). All three novels draw on characters and themes from the Mahabharata.
The secretary of the Vayalar Award Selection Committee, Satheesan confirmed that the committee had received the complaint but said it stood by its decision to honour Dr Rajasree.
“The award was announced based on the endorsement of readers and the award selection committee. Since the award is intended for works that have gained popular appeal, the objection is not applicable,” he said.
Dr Rajasree, meanwhile, has filed a defamation suit against Dr Vinayasree in the Thalassery Munsiff Court, seeking ₹5 lakh in damages. She alleged that Dr Vinayasree had made similar allegations against her in the past.
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman)
