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The Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate court, on Friday, April 10, granted bail to Malayalam filmmaker and writer Ranjith Balakrishnan in a sexual harassment case filed by a young female actor. Judicial First Class Magistrate L Usha granted bail to Ranjith, noting that the prosecution had not filed a custody application. This is the third case against him. However, the previous two cases have been closed by Kerala and Karnataka High Courts.
According to a Bar and Bench report, the lawyer representing Ranjith stated that no notice was served to him before the proceedings. The lawyer also stated that the accused has not contested either his arrest or the previous custody order, and that he was willing to cooperate with the investigation.
However, the prosecution opposed the bail application, arguing that Ranjith had not cooperated with the investigating officer during the three days he was in custody. The court decided to grant bail.
The filmmaker was arrested by the Ernakulam Central Police on March 31 and lodged in Ernakulam sub jail. According to police, the complainant alleged that Ranjith behaved inappropriately on the set of a film currently in production.
He has been charged with assault or the use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty.
Read: What latest case against director Ranjith reveals about IC failure in Malayalam cinema
Ranjith faced similar allegations earlier, though those cases did not see significant progress.
In October 2025, the Kerala High Court quashed a sexual harassment case against Ranjith filed by a Bengali woman actor. In its October 27 order, the court cited the “significant delay” in filing the complaint. The case had been registered on August 26, 2024, after the woman actor filed a police complaint against Ranjith for allegedly sexually harassing her in 2009. The second case by a man, who alleged that Ranjith forced him to be naked and assaulted him in 2012, during an audition conducted in Bengaluru. In July 2025 the case was closed by the Karnataka High Court.
A prominent filmmaker and writer, Ranjith has collaborated with superstars including Mohanlal, Mammootty and other actors.