Kerala HC clears Ranjith of sexual harassment charges
The Kerala High Court has thrown out a sexual harassment case against Malayalam film director Ranjith, saying it was filed too late to be legally valid.
The complaint came from a Bengali actress who said Ranjith outraged her modesty during a meeting at his apartment back in 2009.
Even though the FIR was finally registered in August 2024—after the K. Hema Committee report highlighted harassment—the long gap became a deciding factor.
Court drops all proceedings due to delay
The case was booked under IPC Sections 354 and 509, which deal with assault or gestures meant to insult a woman's modesty.
After an investigation and chargesheet, Justice C. Pratheep Kumar ruled on October 27 that the court couldn't hear the case because it was filed 15 years after the alleged incident—way past the three-year legal time limit for such offenses.
So, all proceedings were dropped due to this delay.