Renowned Director V K Prakash Granted Anticipatory Bail in Sexual Harassment Case

The Kerala High Court granted anticipatory bail to noted film director V K Prakash in a sexual harassment case filed by a woman scriptwriter. Prakash was interrogated for three days before being released on bail. He has denied the allegations and claimed he was falsely implicated.

The police on Thursday released renowned film director V K Prakash on bail, following a Kerala High Court order that granted him anticipatory bail in a sexual harassment case.

Officials at Pallithottam police station said that Prakash was interrogated for two days. He was granted bail on the third day, in accordance with the High Court's directions outlined in the bail order.

''We interrogated him for the last two days and also on the third day. We then granted him bail, as directed by the High Court,'' a police officer told PTI.

A woman scriptwriter had accused Prakash of sexually harassing her in April 2022, when she approached him to narrate a possible movie script.

She made these revelations after the Justice K Hema Committee report was released, which studied the problems women face in the Malayalam film industry.

Prakash, however, has denied these allegations and claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case after he told the woman that her story was not fit to be made into a film.

He also accused the woman of blackmailing his friends, raising similar charges, and alleged that the woman had made sexual advances at him, even sending him WhatsApp messages with sexual undertones.

The Kerala High Court, while granting anticipatory bail to Prakash, had observed that a custodial interrogation is not required as the accused is willing to abide by any stringent conditions imposed by the court and to cooperate with the investigating officer.

However, the court directed that before releasing him on bail, the investigating officer should interrogate him for three days, between 9 am and 2 pm, and subject him to a medical examination if necessary.

(With inputs from agencies.)