Body shaming is unacceptable whether it be targeted at men or women, the Kerala High Court said on Tuesday [CD Boby @ Dr. Boby Chemmanur v. State of Kerala]..Justice PV Kunhikrishnan made the observation while granting bail to businessman Boby Chemmanur who was booked for making inappropriate comments about a Malayalam actress, especially regarding her body..The Court, at the outset, quoted Dr. Steve Maraboli, an American motivational speaker saying, “If you judge a woman by her appearance, it does not define her, it defines you.”.Justice Kunhikrishnan emphasised that comments about people's bodies - that they are too fat, skinny, short, tall or dark - must be avoided. Our bodies change naturally with time, the judge added. "Before concluding, I am forced to say that body shaming is not acceptable in our society. 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. I leave it there," the Court's order stated. .Body shaming is not acceptable in our society.Kerala High Court.The complaint filed by the actress accused Chemmanur of making inappropriate comments at her during an inaugural function for a jewellery store owned by the businessman. It also claimed that Chemmanur's comments induced others to make sexually inappropriate comments about her on her social media posts and other online platforms.Chemmanur was arrested from Wayanad on January 8 and booked under Sections 75(1)(i) (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures) and 75(1)(iv) (making sexually coloured remarks as a form of sexual harassment) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the IT Act.His first attempt at securing bail proved unsuccessful when the Judicial First Class Magistrate -II at Ernakulam, prima facie, rejected Chemmanur's claims that his actions were innocent. The Magistrate opined that Chemmanur's comments about the actress were ripe with sexual innuendo.Chemmanur was then remanded to custody for 14 days..He subsequently moved the High Court for bail arguing that all the allegations against him were false and concocted by the actress as part of a publicity stunt.It was also submitted that any evidence to be collected in this case was easily available in the public domain, making his remand unnecessary.He also claimed that his arrest from Wayanad was done in violation of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar..Comments about the body of a person as too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too dark, too black, etc. should be avoided.Kerala High Court.After going through the Chemmanur's comments and watching videos of the incident, the Court opined that Chemmanur's actions would prima facie attract the offences alleged."Prima facie I am of the opinion that there are ingredients to attract the offences alleged against the petitioner. The petitioner is using words with double meanings. Any Malayalee who reads the First Information Statement can easily understand that the words used by the petitioner are with double meanings," the Court said.However, the Court also noted that maximum possible punishment for the offences alleged would only be 3 years. It, therefore, deemed it appropriate to grant him bail. .The Court also recorded the submission of Chemmanur's counsel Senior Advocate B Raman Pillai, that Chemmanur would not make any inappropriate statements on social media in the future..Senior Advocate B Raman Pillai and advocates MR Dhanil, Geo Paul, Sujesh Menon VB, Senitta P Jojo, Vidhuna Narayanan and T Anil Kumar represented Chemmanur..[Read Order]
Body shaming is unacceptable whether it be targeted at men or women, the Kerala High Court said on Tuesday [CD Boby @ Dr. Boby Chemmanur v. State of Kerala]..Justice PV Kunhikrishnan made the observation while granting bail to businessman Boby Chemmanur who was booked for making inappropriate comments about a Malayalam actress, especially regarding her body..The Court, at the outset, quoted Dr. Steve Maraboli, an American motivational speaker saying, “If you judge a woman by her appearance, it does not define her, it defines you.”.Justice Kunhikrishnan emphasised that comments about people's bodies - that they are too fat, skinny, short, tall or dark - must be avoided. Our bodies change naturally with time, the judge added. "Before concluding, I am forced to say that body shaming is not acceptable in our society. 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. I leave it there," the Court's order stated. .Body shaming is not acceptable in our society.Kerala High Court.The complaint filed by the actress accused Chemmanur of making inappropriate comments at her during an inaugural function for a jewellery store owned by the businessman. It also claimed that Chemmanur's comments induced others to make sexually inappropriate comments about her on her social media posts and other online platforms.Chemmanur was arrested from Wayanad on January 8 and booked under Sections 75(1)(i) (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures) and 75(1)(iv) (making sexually coloured remarks as a form of sexual harassment) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the IT Act.His first attempt at securing bail proved unsuccessful when the Judicial First Class Magistrate -II at Ernakulam, prima facie, rejected Chemmanur's claims that his actions were innocent. The Magistrate opined that Chemmanur's comments about the actress were ripe with sexual innuendo.Chemmanur was then remanded to custody for 14 days..He subsequently moved the High Court for bail arguing that all the allegations against him were false and concocted by the actress as part of a publicity stunt.It was also submitted that any evidence to be collected in this case was easily available in the public domain, making his remand unnecessary.He also claimed that his arrest from Wayanad was done in violation of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar..Comments about the body of a person as too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too dark, too black, etc. should be avoided.Kerala High Court.After going through the Chemmanur's comments and watching videos of the incident, the Court opined that Chemmanur's actions would prima facie attract the offences alleged."Prima facie I am of the opinion that there are ingredients to attract the offences alleged against the petitioner. The petitioner is using words with double meanings. Any Malayalee who reads the First Information Statement can easily understand that the words used by the petitioner are with double meanings," the Court said.However, the Court also noted that maximum possible punishment for the offences alleged would only be 3 years. It, therefore, deemed it appropriate to grant him bail. .The Court also recorded the submission of Chemmanur's counsel Senior Advocate B Raman Pillai, that Chemmanur would not make any inappropriate statements on social media in the future..Senior Advocate B Raman Pillai and advocates MR Dhanil, Geo Paul, Sujesh Menon VB, Senitta P Jojo, Vidhuna Narayanan and T Anil Kumar represented Chemmanur..[Read Order]
