Mr Chandran, 74, produced photographs of the complainant in the court.
New Delhi:
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted bail to activist Civic Chandran, holding that sexual harassment prima facie would not stand out as the complainant was wearing sexually provocative attire.
A social activist and writer, Mr Chandran has been accused of sexual harassment in a pre-2020 case. The complainant, a young writer, has accused Mr. Chandran of sexually harassing her at a camp in Nandi Beach on February 8, 2020.
Along with the bail application, 74-year-old Mr. Chandran also produced photographs of the complainant in the court.
The Kerala High Court, while reserving its order, held that the offense under Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code cannot be sustained as the girl was wearing “sexually provocative clothes”.
“The photographs produced by the accused along with the bail application show that the actual complainant herself is wearing such clothes which are sexually provocative,” the court order said. Therefore, section 354A prima facie will not go against the accused.
The Kerala High Court also expressed disbelief that Mr Chandran, aged 74 and physically disabled, could force himself on another person.
“Even accepting that there was physical contact, it is impossible to believe that a person of 74 years of age and physically incapacitated could forcibly hold the complainant in his lap,” the order said.
According to the complainant, Mr. Chandran had set up a camp at Nandi Beach on February 8, 2020. At the camp, Mr. Chandran forcibly took her to a secluded place, asked her to lie on his lap and pressed her breasts.
The Koylandi police had registered a case on July 29 this year under sections 354A(2), 341 and 354 of the IPC.
The defense counsel termed the case as “false” and “cooked” by the enemies of the accused. The defense also asked why it took more than two years to register the case when the alleged offense happened in 2020.