Filmmaker Ranjith gets bail in sexual harassment case 10 days after arrest

Ranjith

On Friday, a court in Kochi granted bail to Malayalam film director Ranjith, who was arrested in a sexual harassment case. Judicial First Class Magistrate L Usha granted bail after imposing stringent conditions. The court directed Ranjith to surrender his passport, not to leave Ernakulam district, and not to enter the crime scene in Fort Kochi where the film shooting was held.

Ranjith gets conditional bail

The filmmaker was ordered to execute a bond of Rs 1 lakh and furnish two solvent sureties of the like amount. The court also directed Ranjith to appear before the investigating officer every Monday for the next three months or until the charge sheet in the case is filed.

Ranjith, who is lodged at Ernakulam Sub Jail, will be released soon. He was arrested from Thodupuzha on March 31 after an actress approached the police alleging that she was sexually harassed by the director inside a caravan during a film shoot in Fort Kochi.

Earlier, the police had interrogated Ranjith in custody.

When the bail plea was considered, the prosecution opposed it, claiming that he had not cooperated with the investigation. However, the defence counsel submitted that Ranjith had neither objected to his arrest nor to custodial interrogation earlier. The defence also cited his health condition while seeking bail.

Taking into account his health condition and the status of the investigation, the court granted him bail.

About Ranjith's arrest

According to police, the complaint was filed by a young actress who alleged that the incident took place at the shooting location. Based on her statement, a case has been registered under multiple sections, including sexual assault and outraging the modesty of a woman. Meanwhile, Ranjith's lawyer has said that they are preparing to move a bail plea in court.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted on April 1 to probe the matter further. On April 4, the court remanded him to three days of police custody after the hearing.

This is not the first time the filmmaker has faced allegations of this nature. In 2024, he stepped down as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy following sexual harassment claims raised by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra.