Actor Sidhique, director Ranjith move Kerala HC for protection from arrest

KOCHI: Actor Sidhique and director Ranjith, the first two to face allegations of sexual offences against female actors in the wake of the Justice K Hema Committee report, have moved the Kerala High Court seeking protection from arrest in the cases lodged against them.

Ranjith Balakrishnan has claimed in his anticipatory bail plea that the case against him was the result of the "disappointment and resentment of the complainant at not being chosen to act in the movie being re-ignited by certain vested interests" who wanted him to be removed from the chairmanship of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy.

The 60-year-old director, the first one to be booked for a sexual offence in the days after the report was made public, has also claimed that he suffers from several ailments and recently underwent liver transplantation surgery, and therefore, requires good and proper medical care and attention.

"In the facts and circumstances of the case, the allegations raised and especially, in the backdrop of the fact that the alleged incident had taken place 15 years back, the custodial interrogation of the applicant is not at all warranted.

"The applicant is not a flight risk and undertakes to cooperate with the investigation. It is further submitted that the court can impose sufficient conditions for the proper investigation," he said in his plea.

The case in which Ranjith is seeking protection from arrest is for the offence under section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC on a complaint by a female actor from West Bengal regarding an incident which occurred in 2009.

She had alleged that the director had touched her inappropriately with sexual intent after inviting her to act in the movie 'Paleri Manikyam' in 2009.

Following the allegation by the actor, Ranjith had resigned from his post as chairman of Kerala Chalachitra Academy.

Recently, a second case was lodged against the director under sections 377 (unnatural offence) of the IPC and section 66 E (punishment for violation of privacy) of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

The second case was on the complaint by a male actor who alleged that the director called him to a hotel in Bengaluru in 2012, asked him to strip and took his nude photos.

The complainant also claimed, before TV channels, that the photos were sent to a well known veteran female actor who has denied the allegation.

Sidhique, who was booked for offences under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation), has claimed that the complainant female actor, has subjected him to the "prolonged campaign of harassment and false accusations since 2019".

In his anticipatory bail plea, he further claimed that she had repeatedly, for the past five years, made unsubstantiated and false claims of sexual misbehaviour and 'verbal sexual offers' by him in a theatre in 2016.

"But now she has raised totally contradictory allegation of more serious crime of rape at a different place in the same year," he said in his plea.

He has claimed that she was made aware that attempted sexual assault was bailable and he would not be arrested, while for rape he would be taken into custody. That is why she raised the more serious allegation of rape to get him arrested, Sidhique has claimed.

"The significant change in narrative reveals a deliberate and calculated effort to deceive and implicate the petitioner falsely and is sufficient to prove the falsity of the allegations.

"The latest allegations are notably vague, failing to provide even the most basic detail regarding the date of the alleged incident," the actor said.

Sidhique had also resigned from his post as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) following the allegations against him.

Multiple FIRs have been registered against many high profile Malayalam film personalities following allegations of sexual harassment against various directors and actors in the wake of revelations in the Justice K Hema Committee report.

The committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe them.