YouTuber assault case: Bhagyalakshmi, other activists get advance bail

Dubbing artiste Bhagyalakshmi, activists assault YouTuber for video insulting women
Bhagyalakshmi and the two women activists had assaulted Vijay for posting slanderous videos against women on YouTube in September.

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has granted anticipatory bail to renowned dubbing artiste Bhagyalakshmi and fellow activists Diya Sana and Sreelakshmi over assaulting YouTuber Vijay P Nair for posting derogatory videos on women. The HC, however, voiced displeasure for taking law into their own hands.

Justice Ashok Menon ordered that the three women be granted bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 50,000 each and two solvent sureties for the same amount, in the event of an arrest. Other bail conditions include appearance before the probe officers when summoned, cooperation with the probe, refraining from destroying evidence or influencing the witnesses and keeping off from similar offences.

Bhagyalakshmi and the two women activists had assaulted Vijay for posting slanderous videos against women on YouTube in September. The women had approached the Kerala High Court after the Thiruvananthapuram sessions court rejected their anticipatory bail plea.

The observations made by the HC

The first accused is said to be a celebrity and the others social activists. Taking law into one's own hands sets the wrong example to others. The court does not approve this act of vigilantism. But the court does not deem it necessary to imprison them just to teach a lesson.

While granting the anticipatory bail, the court mainly considers the gravity of the offence and the likelihood of the accused escaping the law. The accused do not have a criminal background. After the incident, the accused appeared before the police and handed over the articles taken from Vijay. This indicated that they were ready to cooperate with the probe and would not try to flee the judiciary.

Letting the public to take law into their own hands can lead to serious problems. This would affect the legal system and other State institutions. Such extra-judicial acts on the pretext of protecting the law, should be curbed.

But the Kerala High Court said that the anticipatory bail cannot be denied on the grounds that it would send the wrong message or encourage vigilantism.

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