Malayalam film director Ranjith Balakrishnan has approached the Kerala High Court seeking to quash the sexual harassment case lodged against him by a Bengali actress [Ranjith Balakrishnan v State of Kerala].Justice C Jayachandran on Friday issued notice to the State and the complainant and posted the matter for hearing on January 27..As pet the complaint filed by the actress, Ranjith had invited her to his apartment in 2009 under the pretext of discussing a film project and inappropriately touched her with sexual intent.Based on this, the police registered a first information report against Ranjith for offences under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty) and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult a woman’s modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).Subsequently, criminal proceedings were initiated against him before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Ernakulam..Ranjith in his plea has denied the accusations, asserting that the complaint was part of a conspiracy orchestrated by certain individuals, including filmmaker Joshy Joseph, to oust Ranjith from his position as the Chairman of the Kerala Chalachithra Academy."The complaint is bogus and is made without any bonafides. The statements of Joshy Joseph and his friends would make it very clear that the entire story is cooked up by him with the aid of the complainant," the plea alleged.Ranjith also stated that the complaint was filed in 2024, well beyond the limitation period, rendering the proceedings time-barred.He emphasised that the delay of 15 years in filing the complaint violated the limitation period prescribed under Section 468 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).The complaint has caused him harassment and damaged his reputation, it was contended..Ranjith had recently secured bail from the Karnataka High Court in an unnatural sex case filed against him by an aspiring male actor.The Karnataka High Court had said in its bail order that the case seemed false on the face of it since the Taj Hotel near Bengaluru Airport, where the alleged incident supposedly occurred, opened only in 2016, four years after the claimed event, highlighting a glaring factual inaccuracy.Ranjith is among several high-profile figures in the Malayalam film industry facing allegations of sexual misconduct following the public release of the Justice Hema Committee Report. The report, which examined the working conditions of women in Malayalam cinema, revealed widespread sexual abuse and systemic discrimination, prompting many women to file complaints against industry veterans..The petition has been moved by advocates Santheep Ankarath and Sherry MV.
