The state government on Thursday informed the Kerala High Court that a supplementary report has been filed in the jurisdictional court after framing the charge of rape under Section 376 of the IPC against director-actor Balachandra Menon in a sexual assault case. A female actor filed a complaint that Mr. Menon sexually assaulted her during the shooting of a film in 2007.

The prosecutor submitted this in response to Mr. Menon’s request for early release in the case. A bench of justice CS Dias extended the interim anticipatory bail granted to Mr. Menon till December 11 as the investigating officer sought more time to file a report. The court adjourned the hearing of the petition to December 11.

The female actor filed the complaint at the Cantonment police station in Thiruvananthapuram. Mr. Menon, in his petition, claimed that he received a threatening phone call on September 13 from a person who identified himself as the plaintiff’s lawyer. He said the appellant tried to intimidate him and extort money from him after which he filed a police complaint against the actor.

The court had earlier noted that the alleged incident took place between January 12 and January 21, 2007, but the FIR was registered only on September 30, 2024, with no plausible explanation for the substantial delay. The bench ordered that if Mr. Menon is arrested, he will be released on bail after executing a bond of INR 1 lakh with two solvent sureties to the satisfaction of the investigating officer.