Sexual harassment case: Kerala court sends filmmaker Ranjith to police custody for 3 days

A magistrate court in Ernakulam today granted the police three days of custody over Malayalam film director Ranjith Balakrishnan following his recent arrest in a sexual harassment case.

Judicial First Class Magistrate L Usha allowed the State's application seeking custodial interrogation of Ranjith.

The court ordered that Ranjith will be in police custody for three days, that is, today, tomorrow and Monday (April 5-April 6).

The court also recorded that the bail application filed by the accused would be considered after the completion of custodial interrogation.

It further directed that once the investigation during the custody period is over, the accused shall be produced before the court, following which the bail plea will be taken up on April 7 (Tuesday) for consideration.

The case stems from the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Ernakulam police against the filmmaker on a complaint accusing him of attempting to sexually assault an actress inside a caravan during a film shoot on January 30 this year.

Based on the actress's complaint, the police filed an FIR and recorded her confidential statement, before proceeding to arrest the director.

Balakrishnan was taken into custody by the police on March 31 from Thodupuzha and was subsequently produced before a magistrate in Ernakulam, who remanded him to judicial custody.

Following his arrest, Balakrishnan had complained of uneasiness and was taken to the Ernakulam General Hospital for medical examination. The hospital authorities confirmed that there were no serious health concerns, following which he was remanded to judicial custody.

He is currently lodged at the Ernakulam Sub Jail.

Balakrishnan has been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including non-bailable offences under Section 74 (assault or criminal force to women with intent to outrage her modesty), Section 75 (sexual harassment) and Section 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).

Balakrishnan has maintained that the case against him is false.

This is not the first time that Balakrishnan has faced allegations of sexual harassment.

In 2024, a Bengali actress had accused him of attempting to molest her during a film discussion in 2009, following which an FIR was registered.

These allegations against the director surfaced after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed the systemic issues of sexual exploitation and harassment in the Malayalam film industry.

However, the case was later quashed by the Kerala High Court in October 2025, noting the considerable delay in lodging the complaint.

In another case, the Karnataka High Court had quashed proceedings initiated against Balakrishnan, after an aspiring male actor accused the director of engaging in unnatural sex with him.

Advocate S Rajeev appeared for Ranjith Balakrishnan before the trial court.