[BREAKING] Actor Vijay Babu granted interim bail by Kerala High Court in rape case

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted interim protection from arrest to Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu in a rape case registered against him based on the complaint of an actress [Vijay Babu v State of Kerala]..Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas noted that Babu, who has been in Dubai since the case was registered against him, was willing to come back to India and surrender but that he apprehended immediate arrest on arriving at the airport. Therefore, the Court granted interim protection, keeping in mind the best interest of the investigation, the survivor and the rights of the petitioner. "The essential requirement of every investigation is that the accused must be in its control for the purpose of carrying out an effective and fair investigation. It augurs well, in the interest of the investigation as well as the victim, that the accused submits himself to the jurisdiction of the investigating team....in the interest of the victim, the investigation and the petitioner, it is necessary that the petitioner is protected for a limited period of time. Accordingly, I direct the respondents not to arrest the petitioner until the next posting date," the order stated. Babu was directed to cooperate with the investigation until the matter is considered next on Friday, June 2..During today's hearing, Justice Thomas concurred with the view taken by Justice Gopinath P, who had heard the matter previously, that it would be better to grant him interim protection so that he comes back to India.However, the prosecution, led by Senior Advocate Gracious Kurakose, continued to oppose the same claiming that Babu has been absconding and, therefore, is not entitled to any relief from the Court, interim or otherwise..The judge spoke of his own experience at the Bar dealing with instances of accused individuals absconding from the law and taking shelter in other countries. "If I refuse to grant him interim bail now, he will remain abroad and elusive. That is why I'm asking why you haven't been able to arrest him so far. I'm speaking from experience. Once I sought an arrest but the Court granted the accused police protection. This was the wisdom of the Court. Because of the police protection, he came down to Kerala and we were able to nab him. How many people have been elusive in our country? Several agencies have been trying, but have they been successful? This is what I'm trying to avoid here," Justice Thomas orally remarked. .The judge went on to point out that if the prosecution is working, not merely as a mouth-piece of the police, but also as a champion of the survivor actress, it would be amenable to grant of interim bail."Has this turned into an ego clash? Are you doing this for the media? That is the impression I am gathering from your opposition to grant of even interim bail for 2 or 3 days. If you were really working for the interest of the victim, you would want him to come down. That is what any proper investigation team would want," he said. .The Court was considering the anticipatory bail application filed by Babu, through Advocate S Rajeev, contending that the complaint against him was nothing but an attempt to blackmail him.He also alleged that the police is guided by the intense media scrutiny and speculations relating to the case.Claiming that the evidence would show that there wasn't any non-consensual relationship, Babu approached the court seeking anticipatory bail under Section 438 Code of Criminal Procedure..The bail plea was opposed not only by the State prosecution but also by the de-facto complainant, represented by advocate P Rajesh..The case was registered on the basis #MeToo revelations made by a debutante- actress alleging that Babu sexually exploited her under the guise of considering her for acting roles.A complaint was subsequently registered with the Ernakulam Police. The police issued a look out notice against him since he absconded after the case came to light.However, Babu later went online on Facebook Live and denied all allegations raised against him.Significantly, he revealed the name of the survivor during the course of the live-streaming.A separate case was then registered against him under Section 228A (disclosure of the identity of the victim in certain offences) of the Indian Penal Code.In light of the heavy backlash and criticism of the video, Babu later removed the video from Facebook..[Read Order]