Boby Chemmanur was arrested on January 8, 2025, in Wayanad, following a complaint by Honey Rose. She alleged that during an event on August 7, 2024, at Alakode, Kannur, where she was the chief guest for a jewellery showroom inauguration, Chemmanur made unwelcome advances.
Kerala: The Kerala High Court has granted bail on Tuesday (14th Jan) to renowned businessman Boby Chemmanur, who was arrested in a sexual harassment case filed by Malayalam actress Honey Rose.
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan approved his bail, emphasizing the principle that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception.”
The court noted that the offenses against Chemmanur carry penalties of one to three years.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s guidelines, Justice Kunhikrishnan highlighted, “Where the punishment is seven years or less, an accused cannot be arrested by the police without sufficient reasons.”
The court further remarked, “In the light of the above principle, I think the petitioner can be released on bail after imposing stringent conditions.”
While granting bail, the court acknowledged the prima facie evidence supporting the charges under Section 75(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for making “sexually coloured remarks” and Section 67 of the IT Act for transmitting obscene material electronically.
The court observed that Chemmanur’s words had “double meanings” and added, “Any Malayalee who reads the First Information Statement (FIS) can easily understand that the words used by the petitioner (Chemmanur) are with double meanings.”
Addressing societal attitudes, the judge said, “Body shaming is not acceptable in our society.” He elaborated, “Comments about the body of a person as too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too dark, too black, etc. should be avoided. There is a sense that we are all ‘too something’ and we are all ‘not enough.’ This is life. Our bodies will change, our minds will change, and our hearts will change. Everybody should be vigilant while making comments about others, whether they are men or women.”
Chemmanur was granted bail upon executing a bond of Rs 50,000 along with two solvent sureties for the same amount. The court directed him to:
- Appear before the Investigating Officer (IO) whenever required.
- Fully cooperate with the investigation.
- Refrain from influencing or intimidating witnesses.
- Avoid committing similar offenses.
The court warned that if any of these conditions were violated, the jurisdictional court could cancel his bail.
The prosecution opposed the bail plea, arguing that Chemmanur’s social media posts often contained “sexually coloured remarks.”
They contended, “Granting him relief would send a wrong message to society.”
However, the court countered, stating, “A message has already gone to the society as the businessman was in judicial custody since January 9.”
Background
Boby Chemmanur was arrested on January 8, 2025, in Wayanad, following a complaint by Honey Rose. She alleged that during an event on August 7, 2024, at Alakode, Kannur, where she was the chief guest for a jewellery showroom inauguration, Chemmanur made unwelcome advances.
The complaint stated, “During the inauguration ceremony, Chemmanur placed a necklace around the actress’s neck and then made unwelcome sexual advances with bad intentions, twirling or rotating her.”
Chemmanur denied the allegations, describing them as “false, baseless, and incorrect.”
In his bail plea, Chemmanur claimed that the allegations stemmed from a complaint lodged by Honey Rose, who had previously celebrated her long-standing professional relationship with him. The plea pointed out that she had inaugurated multiple showrooms of his jewellery business, including events in April 2019, December 2022, and August 2024.
It was also mentioned that Honey Rose herself disclosed the complaint on social media, making “unwarranted remarks” against him.
Case Title: CD Boby @ Dr. Boby Chemmanur v. State of Kerala
