Jose Thettayil MLA, who is facing sexual harassment charges, on Thursday approached the High Court seeking to quash the First Information Report (FIR) filed against him.
Thettayil submitted before the court that the allegations made by a woman regarding physical relationship with him were false and fabricated. On the basis of a complaint by a 30-year-old woman, Aluva police had registered a case against Thettayil and his son on charges under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC.
“Even if all the allegations in the complaint are taken to be true, it will disclose only consensual relationship on the initiative taken by her intended to trap the accused and to blackmail them in future, which will not constitute an offence of rape in the light of principles laid down by the Supreme Court in 2003,” the petitioner said.
He said it was evidently clear that it was the woman who took the initiative to get the petitioner to her house alone to have physical relationship with him for the sole purpose of recording the sexual act. “The complaint does not make out any of the ingredients of offence punishable under Section 376. The allegations in the complaint are absolutely false,” the petition stated.
“The criminal proceeding were maliciously instituted with ulterior motives. The police are acting on the orders of their political masters and clear political agenda was behind the complaint and registration of crime,” he said. “It’s understood that the woman had been instigated by some of the prominent leaders of ruling political front to fabricate a false case and to file a frivolous complaint with the ulterior motive to tide over the political crisis prevailing in the state. The inordinate delay in filing the complaint is a proof of it,” the petition said. Thettayil submitted that the complaint discloses commission of several grave crimes under the Information Technology Act, 2000, by the woman. But the police have not taken any steps against her and at the same time initiated a manhunt to arrest him, Thettayil said.
The petition said the allegations that the petitioner’s son had gone to Bombay promising that he would return after four months and at that time marriage between him and the woman would be solemnised are false and incorrect. “It is true that his son is employed in Mumbai but he has never thought of getting married so far as his employment is not a permanent one,” the petitioner said. He said the woman is a 30-year-old divorcee, whereas the petitioner’s son is a 26-year-old bachelor with MBA degree and is seeking a better placement for settling in life. It is too early for him to get married at this stage, the petition said. The petition said the statement that he had asked her to go to his place and they went to the flat together in her car was false. The allegation that the petitioner misbehaved with her was also baseless. Senior advocates of the High Court M K Damodaran and Gracious Kuriakose and Advocate V V Nandagopal Nambiar will appear for Thettayil before the High Court on Friday.
‘Thettayil tampered with video footage’
The woman who made allegations of sexual abuse against Jose Thettayil has claimed that the MLA had tampered with the video clippings that were later handed over to the TV channels. She made this claim while being interviewed by electronic media on Thursday.
Thettayil morphed the video images in the copy given to him, she alleged. The fourth part of the video had showed one more person than herself and Thettayil. The woman claimed that she had the original video with her to prove this.