On Tuesday, the Kerala High Court has granted anticipatory bail to dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi and women activists Diya Sana and Sreelakshmi Arackal in the assault and abuse of YouTuber Vijay P Nair over a derogatory video. The latter is known to upload videos with derogatory and sexually explicit comments on his YouTube channel. He was slapped, doused with motor oil and made to apologise on a Facebook Live video by the three women.
While pronouncing the order on the bail application filed by the three women, Justice Ashok Menon stated that if they are arrested, they should be released on bail after furnishing sureties and complying with conditions specified in the order. The conditions will be revealed, as well as the reasons for bail, once the full order is available.
The judge had remarked that vigilantism couldn’t be encouraged. “It is not proper to take the law into your hands even if the other person has said the nastiest of things,” Justice Menon told lawyers representing the women.
On September 26, 2020, Bhagyalakshmi, Diya Sana and Sreelakshmi Arackal got into a war of words with Vijay Nair for the latter’s sexist comments he made on his YouTube channel. He was to apologise in a Facebook Live video. They smeared him with motor oil and took away his laptop, which was later produced before the police.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan supported the women and said that the government would intervene to ensure justice for the victims as well as punishment for the accused, but warned that no one must take the law into their own hands. After this incident was brought to light, Kerala police acted on Bhagyalakshmi’s complaint and registered a case against Vijay. The YouTuber was arrested from his residence in Thiruvananthapuram on September 28.
