KOCHI: A retired professor and governing body chairman of Maharaja’s College has landed in trouble as the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court denied him anticipatory bail after the police registered a case against him for allegedly outraging the modesty of a woman. Ernakulam North police on August 18 registered a case against N Ramakantan, 62, of North Paravoor who retired as associate professor and head of the department of politics at the college in 2016.
The case was registered following a complaint lodged by a tenant of the accused. The complainant and her daughter were running a ladies’ hostel at a house owned by the wife of Ramakantan on Azad Road in Kaloor. As the tenants failed to pay the rent, they were directed to clear the house and premises. The incident took place on August 15. The complainant reached the place to settle the advance money paid. There, the accused allegedly outraged her modesty.
Speaking to TNIE, Ramakantan said the complainant did not raise any allegation till August 17. Ramakantan also suspects that a policeman is aiding the tenant. “This is a fabricated case and no such incident took place as alleged against me. Around Rs 1.2 lakh is due to be paid by the tenant. They only paid two months’ rent. As the anticipatory bail is denied, we will move the Kerala High Court soon. Similarly, all pieces of evidence including voice messages sent after the incident would be presented before the police and the court,” he said.
After the case was registered, Ramakantan approached the Ernakulam District Principal Sessions Court seeking anticipatory bail. According to him, he has adorned various key positions such as director, Kerala Institute of Local Administration, Thrissur; consultant of State Planning Board; member of Local Government Commission; director, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, etc.
Ramankantan claimed that this case was foisted on him to evade the liability of payment of rent arrears. On August 15 when the tenant was asked to giving him the electricity and water bills to calculate the amount to be returned, she refused. She threatened the petitioner that she knew how to get the advance amount. She openly said she would go to any extent in getting the advance amount from the petitioner. When Ramakantan insisted on the arrears, she repeated the threats.
However, the prosecution objected to the anticipatory bail plea claiming that granting it will send the wrong message to society. The court also heard the victim through her counsel. The court while examining the case dairy found the statement of one Alex who is residing near the scene of occurrence, heard a loud noise and he enquired about it. At that time, the complainant was seen crying and speaking loudly.
“The petitioner holds a prominent position in the society and there may not be a chance for running away from the clutches of law. That alone cannot be taken as a criterion to grant pre-arrest bail. All these circumstances constrain me to conclude that the petitioner is not entitled to get a pre-arrest bail at this stage and hence, the petition is dismissed,” ordered judge Honey M Varghese.