Thiruvananthapuram, April 2 (IANS) Superstar of Malayalam cinema Suresh Gopi is caught in a legal tangle for wearing a police uniform while attending a public function recently to launch community policing in Kerala.

An advocate in Kochi filed a criminal petition in a court against Gopi Tuesday, saying he had committed an offence as the Indian Penal Code and the Kerala Police Act bar others from wearing police uniforms in public.

The court has posted the case for hearing May 3.

Gopi defended his action saying he was shooting for a film in which he acts as a police official and there was no time to change into civilian clothes and attend the function held March 26.

'Also I did it to send the message (about the important role police play) in its full sense,' he told IANS Wednesday.

'See, I meant no disrespect or ever wanted to break the rule of the land. Moreover a police uniform is complete only when one wears the cap of a police official and I did not wear the cap. I was late by an hour and if I had to change and reach the function it would have taken time,' Gopi said.

'I will plead (in the court) that my action was just to promote the community policing programme where there should be a good people-police relations for the benefit of society.'