The Kerala High Court has granted pre-arrest bail to a 57-year-old advocate accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a woman advocate inside a courtroom at the Additional District and Sessions Court-V, Palakkad.

Justice Kauser Edappagath passed the order. According to the prosecution case, the applicant and the defacto complainant are both advocates practising at the Palakkad Court Centre. The alleged incident took place on August 5, 2026, at around 11:40 AM, when the woman advocate was leaving the courtroom to write a petition. The prosecution alleged that the applicant pressed her buttocks with sexual intent, thereby outraging her modesty. The offence alleged is under Section 75(1)(i) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The applicant’s counsel argued that he was innocent and had been falsely implicated, submitting that there was no material connecting him with the alleged offence. The Senior Public Prosecutor opposed the bail, submitting that the incident was part of the applicant’s intentional criminal acts and that his release could affect the investigation.

The Court, however, noted that both the applicant and the complainant were lawyers and that a separate crime had been registered against the complainant and others at the instance of the applicant. The Court held:

The Court accordingly directed that the applicant be released on bail in the event of arrest on executing a ₹1 lakh bond with two solvent sureties for the like amount

The bail was subject to several conditions, including that the advocate cooperate with the investigation, appear before the investigating officer every Saturday between 10 AM and 11 AM, and appear whenever required. He was also restrained from contacting prosecution witnesses, tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses. Further, he cannot leave Kerala without the permission of the trial court.

Dinesh K. v. State of Kerala

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