The Kerala High Court on Wednesday, January 15, warned businessman Boby Chemmanur of cancelling his bail if he continued to “play drama” by delaying his release for media attention.
Boby Chemmanur, who was arrested in a sexual harassment case on January 8, came out of jail on Wednesday morning, a day after court granted him conditional bail. Talking to reporters, the accused claimed that he extended his stay in jail as he “wanted to arrange money for a few inmates who were arrested in cases like not paying bills after having food at restaurants.”
Later in the day, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan, who granted bail to Boby, directed him to submit an explanation before the Court by 12 PM why the remand order was not submitted on time. The court said that the order copy was released sharp at 4 PM yesterday and that the release order was released by 5 pm.
“Don't play any drama with the Court. If I can release, I know how to cancel the bail also. You need not take vakalath of remand prisoners, High Court and judiciary is there to protect remand prisoners. If you want I can cancel bail…He is playing with the High Court. When there is an order, he is keeping it in pocket for media attention…and creating stories…He thinks that nobody is above him, I will show him...I will ask police to arrest him...Is this the manner in which an accused behaves,” LiveLaw quoted him as saying.
Even though the court granted bail on the grounds that “bail is the rule, jail is the exception”, it had held that there are ingredients to attract the offences alleged against him. The conditions laid out by the court while granting bail are that Boby Chemmanur must pay a bond for Rs 50,000 to secure release, he must appear before the Investigating Officer (IO) as and when required, not commit a similar offence. The bail can be cancelled if the accused violates any of these conditions.
“The petitioner is using words with double meanings. Any Malayalee who reads the First Information Statement can easily understand that the words used by the petitioner are with double meanings. Therefore I am of the considered opinion that prima facie, the ingredients of the offences alleged are attracted,” the court said.
The court had also accepted Boby’s submission that he will not make any statement on social media that questions the survivor’s talent or recognition in the society. A popular Malayalam actor, on January 7, had filed a police complaint with the Ernakulam Central Police Station, accusing Boby of continuous obscene abuse.
Though she did not name anybody in her initial post on January 5 about the alleged sexual harassment, in the next one she addressed Boby Chemmanur and said, “There will be complaints against your associates also soon, who seem to share your mental state. You may believe in the power of your money, but I believe in the strength of the judicial system of India.”
The case has been registered under 75(1)(i) and 75(1)(iv) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act (IT Act).