Kerala High Court Pulls Up Boby Chemmannur For Staying In Jail Despite Grant Of Bail

The Kerala High Court has warned Boby Chemmanur of cancellation of bail granted to him in the sexual harassment case filed by a Malayalam Movie actress.

Justice P. V. Kunhikrishnan orally stated that even though the release order was issued by 4.45 PM yesterday, the release order was not produced for his release. The Court noted that Boby Chemmanur was trying to garner media attention by delaying his release under the guise of protecting the legal rights of remand prisoners who were unable to secure release from jail. 

The Court has thus directed the Counsel appearing for Boby Chemmanur to submit reasons before the Court by 12 PM for not submitting remand order on time. 

Court orally stated, "I verified the order is uploaded sharp 4 PM yesterday….the release order also released by 5 pm…4.45 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 prinsoners, 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…why not I issue notice for cancellation? if you are not coming out from Jail before 1 o'clock, I will cancel the order....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 behave?..."

After the Court's intervention, reports emerged that Boby Chemmannur has secured release from the jail.

When the matter was taken up in the afternoon, the Court enquired whether Boby Chemmanur had made any statements to the media regarding his continued stay in jail despite receiving bail. The Court had also remarked that if he had indeed made such statements, he would be required to issue an unconditional apology.

The Counsel appearing for Boby Chemmanur sought apology from Court and submitted that it was only a slip of tongue. The Court has warned Boby Chemannur to stay away from making comments against judiciary and not to worry about remand prisoners. The Court has also warned him not to make such statements again. 

Boby Chemmanur was booked under Section 75 (Sexual Harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 67 (publishing or transmission of obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act on allegation of sexually harassing the complainant during the inauguration of one of his jewellery stores at Kannur. The complainant said that this was followed by other sexually coloured remarks on YouTube and other social media platforms.