BREAKING| Kerala High Court Grants Interim Pre-Arrest Bail To Actor-Producer Vijay Babu In Rape Case
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted interim pre-arrest bail until next posting of the case to Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu's plea for anticipatory bail in the case where an actress accused him of sexually exploiting her.Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas directed so after noting that the actor was willing to submit himself before the jurisdiction of the Court and that he was...
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted interim pre-arrest bail until next posting of the case to Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu's plea for anticipatory bail in the case where an actress accused him of sexually exploiting her.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas directed so after noting that the actor was willing to submit himself before the jurisdiction of the Court and that he was apprehending immediate arrest from the airport.
"I'm of the view for the time being that merely because the petitioner is outside the country is not by itself a ground to not consider his bail application."
The Court also added:
"Apprehending arrest in a non-bailable arrest is sufficient justification to move an anticipatory bail application and when the arrest is imminent, the statute provides even the grant of an interim order."
The matter will be taken up day after tomorrow.
It was clarified that these observations were made only for the purpose of consideration of the pre-arrest bail plea.
The actor has previously planned to come down to Kerala on 30 May but cancelled this visit apprehending immediate arrest with all the activities undertaken by the investigating team, including impounding his passport. The Court also allowed an application moved by the de facto complainant today.
The Court had part-heard the matter last Friday, and the Bureau of Immigration had also filed an application seeking to be impleaded into the case. Earlier, the Judge had urged the prosecution to give some time to the actor to return to India and submit himself before the Court and that this was the only reasonable way to get justice for the victim in the case. It had also orally directed the actor to make himself available to the jurisdiction of the court.
As per the de facto complainant, the actor 'gained her trust by being friendly and advising her' when she was a newcomer in the industry. She added that he sexually exploited her under the guise of being a 'saviour' to her when it came to personal and professional issues.
A complaint was thereby registered against him with the Ernakulam police. Meanwhile, the actor hosted a Facebook Live and denied all allegations raised against him. However, during this live streaming, he revealed the survivor's name which led to further backlash. A separate case has been registered under IPC Section 228A (disclosure of the identity of the victim in certain offences) against the actor for revealing her identity on a public platform
Earlier this month, a lookout notice was issued against the actor who has been on the run since the accusations surfaced.
In his bail application moved through Advocate S. Rajeev, he has submitted that he did an advertisement for the Kerala Police in which the de facto complainant was his co-star. According to him, she has been contacting him frequently seeking more opportunities in the Malayalam movie industry. Although he kept explaining that he has no role in casting, the de facto complainant allegedly kept contacting him.
The petitioner has argued that the de facto complainant kept calling him and leaving him numerous messages at odd hours. He claims to have saved all these messages, photos and videos sent by the de facto complainant and that he is willing to produce the same before the investigating agency.
According to him, the de facto complainant is merely trying to blackmail him by filing this false case. He added that while the survivor may be free to raise allegations against anyone, the statutory authorities are duty-bound to ascertain the truthfulness of the allegation before tarnishing or defaming an individual based on a complaint which could not be substantiated.
The actor has submitted that he has strong apprehension of arrest since the police officers are allegedly guided by the media reports. He alleges that the officers want to arrest him due to pressure from the media and to create news for the media.
Vijay Babu has also contended that all the details of the case were available on social media and print media even before the FIS or FIR were uploaded, which according to him proves the unholy nexus between the police and the media. Accordingly, he has sought the Court to grant him protection under Section 438 CrPC.
Case Title: Vijay Babu v. State of Kerala & Anr.
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 250