Kerala High Court declines immediate relief to Rahul Easwar in plea for anticipatory bail

The Kerala High Court on Monday refused to grant any immediate interim relief to right wing activist and public commentator Rahul Easwar who moved the Court seeking anticipatory bail after a Malayalam actress warned him that she may file a police complaint against him. [Rahul Easwar v. State of Kerala].Justice PV Kunhikrishnan asked the Public Prosecutor to get instructions from the State and posted the matter for further consideration on January 27. Last week, the actress had filed a sexual harassment complaint against businessman Boby Chemmanur. A first information report (FIR) was subsequently registered and Chemmanur was arrested. His first attempt at securing bail from the trial court failed and a fresh plea for bail is currently pending before the Kerala High Court..Meanwhile, Rahul Easwar was invited on media channels to discuss the much sensationalised case. In those discussions, Easwar made some comments regarding the clothing choices of the actress..Following this, the actress took to social media to say that she and her family were suffering much mental agony on account of Easwar's comments. She also warned that she might file a complaint against Easwar as well.Apprehending the same and the possible registration of an FIR implicating him, Easwar moved the High Court seeking anticipatory bail. .In his petition, Easwar, a well-known mainstay in news channel discussions, argued that his comments were merely constructive criticism. He has every right to express his opinions on the matter, he stated. "It is submitted that the petitioner does not have any intention to slander the defacto complainant in the above said crime. However, the petitioner is criticizing the way of wearing the dress style of the defacto complainant, which attracts the people especially with regard to the younger generation. So the intention of the petitioner is only to give advice to the defacto complainant in the above said crime related to the dressing style of the defacto complainant", the petition reads. As per the plea, Easwar was not justifying Chemmanur's alleged actions or seeking to defame the actress in any manner. .Advocates Alex K John, Ninan Thomas, Reena Jacob and Gego George represented Easwar.