Karnataka HC stays probe into sexual harassment case against Malayalam film director Ranjith
Bengaluru, Dec 11: The Karnataka High Court has stayed further investigation in a sexual harassment case filed against renowned Malayalam film director Ranjith, after observing that the allegations appeared to be fabricated.
The complainant claimed he was sexually assaulted by Ranjith at the Taj Hotel near Bengaluru International Airport in 2012. However, the High Court noted that the hotel began operations only in 2016, rendering the allegations factually untenable.
"The complaint, on its face, is false. The Taj Hotel near Bengaluru International Airport began operations in 2016, which is four years after the alleged incident. This information is in the public domain. Therefore, the vivid description provided by the complainant is demonstrably false and amounts to a deliberate falsehood," Justice M Nagaprasanna stated.
Additionally, the court highlighted the unexplained delay in filing the complaint, which was registered in 2024, a full 12 years after the purported incident. "The delay of 12 years remains entirely unexplained. This makes it a textbook case of falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus (false in one thing, false in everything)," the judge remarked.
The First Information Report (FIR) was filed under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (unnatural offences) and Section 66E of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The complainant, who identified himself as an aspiring actor, alleged that Ranjith had invited him to a hotel room and subjected him to sexual harassment.
Representing Ranjith, senior advocate Prabhuling Navadgi and advocate Joseph Anthony argued for the stay of further investigation.
The case is scheduled to be revisited on January 17.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
