Actor Soubin Shahir gets anticipatory bail in 'Manjummel Boys' cheating case

Kochi: Actor Soubin Shahir, his father Babu Shahir and Shawn Antony, the producers of the hit Malayalam movie ‘Manjummel Boys', have been granted anticipatory bail by high court in a financial cheating case related to the film's production.

The bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas on Thursday held that custodial interrogation of the petitioners was not necessary, noting that the case involved elements of a commercial dispute. However, HC granted limited custody of the petitioners to facilitate the investigation and directed them to appear before the investigating officer on July 7 and 8 for interrogation. The officer may interrogate them between 10am and 5pm, and in the event of arrest, they shall be released on bail, the court ordered.

The case stems from a complaint filed by Siraj Valiyathara of Aroor before the Ernakulam magistrate court, alleging that Parava Films LLP, owned by the accused, had solicited his investment for the production of ‘Manjummel Boys'. As per an agreement dated Nov 30, 2022, he invested a total of Rs 7 crore through multiple transactions. Despite the commercial success of the film, the petitioners allegedly failed to honour the profit-sharing agreement. According to the police report, although the film grossed Rs 286 crore, the accused failed to pay Siraj his rightful share of profits, amounting to Rs 40 crore.

While considering the anticipatory bail plea, HC observed that the relationship between the parties primarily falls within the realm of a business transaction and that the resulting dispute lies in the commercial sphere. However, since another single bench had already declined to quash the proceedings, the court noted that it cannot be treated as a purely commercial dispute and acknowledged that an element of criminality appears to exist. Based on this, and after considering the need for custodial interrogation, the bench granted anticipatory bail to the petitioners.