The High Court of Kerala on Tuesday (10th Oct 2020) granted anticipatory bail to famous dubbing artist Bhagyalaxmi and feminist Divya Sama and Sreelakshmi Arackal who are accused of assaulting and abusing a Youtuber over a derogatory video.
The Counsel from the accused side submitted that the accused women went to the lodge room of Youtuber Vijay P. Nair at his invitation for a negotiation talk regarding the objectionable video. So, there was no occasion to invoke the offense of trespass with the preparation of assault. Therefore, the non-bailable provisions mentioned in the FIR Section 452 (house-trespass with preparation for assault) and 392 (robbery) of the IPC are not attracted to the case.
Mr. Suman Chakravarthy, Public Prosecutor, submitted that the accused women had posted an incriminating video of their assault on the complaint. Granting them bail will send a wrong message to society, submitted the prosecutor.
A bench of justice Ashok Menon state that in the event of their arrest they should be released on bail on furnishing sureties for allowing bail and the conditions imposed will be known when the complete copy of the order is available.
The bench observed that there was no dishonest intention behind the taking away of the laptop and the mobile phone of the complainant as the accused handed them over to the police the same day.
The bench further observed that the custodial interrogation of the accused may not be necessary, and no recovery is also sought to be made from them. There was also doubt regarding the application of Section 452 IPC to the case, the judge added.
