The Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court II on January 9 denied bailed to businessman Boby Chemmanur on charges of sexual harassment by a leading Malayalam film actress. The Court eventually sent him to judicial custody for 14 days arguing that there was a prima facie evidence against him. It also said that the accused had physical contact and sexually tainted remarks without the informants consent at the launch of a jewellery showroom in Kannur.
The prosecution accused Chemmanur of sexually harassing an actress at the event and followed that up with on social media platforms such as YouTube. The accused was arrested under Section 75 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita – Sexual Harassment and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act – for publishing of obscene material electronically. In the same intent Chemmanur applied for bail stating that the informant was sharing videos rejoicing the said event with comments that he has known him for years. However, the Court did not accept such arguments.
The Court pointed out that the investigation stage is still initial and raised apprehensions on the probable interference by Chemmanur as a rich businessman including indulging in threats to the witnesses and may flee in case of being released on bail. It also decried the remarks Chemmanur made during the event, such as referring to the informant as “Kunthi devi,” which it said was a sexual innuendos masked as an endorsement. The Court relied on a recent judgment of the Kerala High Court stating that remarks pertaining to a woman’s body structure is harassing and constitutes sexually colored remarks.
The informant also said that she could not immediately file complaints because she only wanted to avoid attention, but she could no longer contain herself when she was constantly harassed and people demanded her head online. This explanation was considered by the Court, and in view of the circumstances, no force was in the accused’s defense, and so the bail petition was dismissed.
Case Name: CD Body @ Dr. Boby Chemmanur v. State of Kerala, C.M.P NO. 104/2025.
(Input from Livelaw.in)
