The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the arrest of Venu Gopalakrishnan, owner of an IT company at Infopark, Kerala, in connection with a rape and sexual harassment case filed by a female employee.

A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan, considering his petition against the Kerala High Court's denial of anticipatory bail , issued notice to the State and the complainant. The bench further ordered that no coercive action should be taken against him, subject to the petitioner cooperating with the investigation.

On September 11, the Kerala High Court had refused anticipatory bail to Venu, while extending protection from arrest to other accused in the case, including the firm's director and employees. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas had observed that there were seriou

See Full Page