Businessman Boby Chemmanur, arrested in a sexual harassment case filed by a Malayalam actress, has approached the Kerala High Court for bail.
His initial plea for bail was denied on January 9 by the Judicial First Class Magistrate-II in Ernakulam, who found Chemmanur's claims of innocence unconvincing and remarked that his comments about the actress carried sexual innuendo.
Following the Magistrate's decision, Chemmanur was remanded to 14 days in custody, prompting him to move the High Court.
The actress alleged in her complaint that Chemmanur made inappropriate remarks during the inauguration of his jewellery store, which led others to post sexually inappropriate comments about her on social media. Before filing the complaint, she had publicly condemned such remarks online and warned offenders of legal consequences.
Chemmanur was arrested in Wayanad on January 8 and charged under Sections 75(1)(i) and 75(1)(iv) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for unwelcome physical advances and sexually colored remarks, and Section 67 of the IT Act for transmitting obscene material electronically.
In his bail plea before the Magistrate, Chemmanur contended that the allegations were baseless and fabricated as part of a publicity stunt by the actress. He submitted a video recording of the event and noted the five-month delay in filing the complaint. He also argued that the evidence in the case is publicly available, making his detention unnecessary.
Despite these submissions, the Magistrate rejected his bail plea, leading to his current petition before the High Court.
"Upon perusal of the FIS and the report submitted by the prosecution, it is clearly mentioned that the petitioner/accused has not only twirled the informant once, but turned her around again by uttering 'ഒരിക്കൽ കൂടി മാലയുടെ പിൻവശം കാണു' (check out the back of the necklace once more). The said act of the petitioner/accused can be ex facie understood to be a sexual innuendo, as his sole intention was to display the informant's behind to the crowd. Furthermore, during the said event, the petitioner/accused also addressed her as 'Kunthidevi', which again is another sexual innuendo. The learned counsel for the petitioner/accused attempted to justify the comment made by the petitioner/accused by stating that the said remark was made by him as the informant reminded her of an actress, who played the role of 'Kunthidevi' in a television serial. However, it can be prima facie understood that the said comment made by him is indeed a sexual innuendo, smartly disguised in the form of a poorly worded compliment," the Magistrate's order stated.
After the verdict was pronounced in court, Boby Chemmanur reportedly fainted and complained of health issues. He was allowed to rest in the courtroom for some time before being taken for a medical check-up at a nearby hospital. Subsequently, he was transferred to Kakkanad District Jail.
Chemmanur is being represented by a legal team comprising advocates MR Dhanil, Geo Paul, Sujesh Menon VB, Senitta P Jojo, Vidhuna Narayanan, and T Anil Kumar.
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