"Manjummel Boys" Producers Approach Kerala High Court Seeking Permission To Attend Award Show In Dubai
Shawn Antony and Soubin Shahir, the producers of “Manjummel Boys”, have approached the Kerala High Court for relaxation in anticipatory bail conditions, which prevent them from leaving India without permission of the CourtThe petitioners, accused in a cheating case, approached the High Court after a criminal miscellaneous petition seeking modification of condition 'f' in the bail order,...
Shawn Antony and Soubin Shahir, the producers of “Manjummel Boys”, have approached the Kerala High Court for relaxation in anticipatory bail conditions, which prevent them from leaving India without permission of the Court
The petitioners, accused in a cheating case, approached the High Court after a criminal miscellaneous petition seeking modification of condition 'f' in the bail order, which prevented them from leaving India without the permission of the Court, was dismissed by the Judicial First-Class Magistrate, Ernakulam.
The petitioners submitted that they have applied for the modification as they have been invited to attend the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) 2025, held in Dubai, where the movie 'Manjummel Boys' has been nominated for the “Best Movie Award”.
Justice P V Balakrishnan, while hearing the petition, has asked the prosecution what their apprehension is about the petitioner going abroad for four days for the event.
"What the police were doing for two months?....The only question is he wants to go for four days and what is your apprehension?” the Court asked.
The bench orally observed that there is malafide in the petitioners' booking the tickets for the travel without getting permission from the Court.
“Why did you book tickets before getting permission from the Court? That is not fair.. When the Court says .. it means that you were sure that you will get the order. How can you be sure that the trial court will grant you permission? That shows your malafide. How can you book tickets, when this Court has specifically said to you that you shall not travel abroad without getting a permit from the Court?" the Court orally observed.
Background
A crime was registered by the Maradu Police under Sections 120B (Punishment for criminal conspiracy), 34 (common intention), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for cheating) of the Indian Penal Code against Shawn Anthony, Soubin Shahir and the latter's father, who were producers of the movie.
The de facto complainant has alleged that the petitioners cum producers, made 'Manjummel Boys' under the banner of their production company M/S Parava Films LLP. It was alleged that the petitioners induced him to invest Rupees 7 crores on a promise that he would be paid 40% of the profits of the movie as per the terms of the investment agreement entered into between the parties, and the petitioners have failed to repay the profits as per the terms of their investment agreement.
The Kerala High Court has granted anticipatory bail to the petitioners with conditions by an order dated 26.06.2025.
The matter is posted to 8 September for further consideration.
Case Title: Shawn Anthony and Anr v State of Kerala
Case No: Crl. M C 7955/ 2025
Counsel for Petitioner: Thomas J Annakkallunkal, Anupa Anna Jose Kandoth, Jayaraman S, Dhanya Sunny, Ann Milka George