Kerala High Court grants Soubin Shahir, other Manjummel Boys producers anticipatory bail in cheating case

The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to actor-producer Soubin Shahir and producers Shawn Antony and Babu Shahir, who have been accused in a cheating case in connection with their Malayalam blockbuster film Manjummel Boys. [Shawn Antony & Ors v. State of Kerala].Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed that the nature of the dispute which led to the registration of the cheating case does not warrant custodial interrogation. "Since primarily the distribution of profits and the mode of investment carried out by the parties are the source of this dispute, I am of the view that a majority of those aspects are governed by documentary evidence. Custodial interrogation is not necessary in every instance," the order stated.However, for the purpose of completing the investigation, the Court directed Soubin and Antony to appear before the investigating officer on July 7 and, if necessary, on July 8, from 10 AM to 5 PM. .Soubin, Antony and Babu are partners in Parava Films LLP. In November 2022, they entered into an investment agreement with one Siraj Valiyathara Hameed. In said agreement, Hameed agreed to invest ₹7 crore in a time-bound manner for the production of Manjummel Boys, in return for 40% of the net profit..Based on reports that the film had collected over ₹250 crore, Hameed demanded payment as per the agreement. According to Soubin and Antony, they assured Hameed that the same would be done after all the revenue and expenses are accounted for.However, Hameed moved a commercial court seeking an order restraining the petitioners from utilising the profits from the movie and from releasing it on OTT platforms. An ex-parte order was issued by the commercial court attaching the accounts of Parava Films.Hameed subsequently filed a police complaint against the producers, leading to the registration of a first information report (FIR) alleging commission of offences under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 468 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code..Soubin, Antony and Babu then moved the High Court for anticipatory bail arguing that Hameed's demands were premature, as the entire revenue and expenses related to the film had not been accounted for. They had also moved a separate petition seeking to quash the case, but the High Court dismissed the same in May this year.In their application for anticipatory bail, the producers cited clauses from the investment agreement which stipulated that Hameed would receive their share of profits only after all financial aspects were settled.They further alleged that Hameed had already initiated arbitration proceedings against them and that the private complaint filed by him was only to gain publicity and an attempt to pressure them into settling the civil dispute..The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate P Vijaya Bhanu and Advocates Thomas J Anakkalunkal, Anupa Anna Jose Kandoth, Jayaraman S, Dhanya Synny, Ann Milka George and Sherin Rachel Santhosh.Hameed was represented by Advocates Saiby Jose Kidangoor, Benny Antony Parel, Pramitha Augustine, Afsana Khan, Sreeraj S Rajaram, Sneha J, Adarsh Padmanabhan and Amal Dileep.