KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted bail to prominent businessman Boby Chemmanur, who was arrested in a sexual harassment case filed against him by a female Malayalam actor.

While granting bail, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan said, “Body shaming is not acceptable in our society. Comments about the body of a person, such as being 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.”

Boby Chemmanur was booked under Section 75 (Sexual Harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 67 (publishing or transmission of obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.

The judge also cited the words of Steve Maraboli, an American motivational speaker: “If you judge a woman by her appearance, it does not define her, it defines you.”

After examining the First Information Statement in the case, the court said, “Prima facie, 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 have double meanings. Therefore I am of the considered opinion that prima facie, the ingredients of the offences alleged are attracted.”