Arunabh Kumar, the founder of TVF (The Viral Fever), has been acquitted by a Mumbai court in a sexual harassment case that was filed in 2017. According to a report by PTI, the court ruled that there was an “unexplained and unreasonable” delay in filing the First Information Report (FIR) in the matter.
The complaint against Kumar was made by a former employee who claimed that the TVF founder had molested her while she was working for the company. The Andheri police had registered a case against Kumar under Indian Penal Code sections 354A (causing sexual harassment) and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) based on the ex-employee’s allegations.
In 2014, the prosecution claimed that an incident occurred. Three years later, after other women made similar allegations against Arunabh on social media, a complaint was filed. In September 2022, the former CEO of TVF, Arunabh, was acquitted by Metropolitan Magistrate A I Shaikh at the Andheri court. In his order, the magistrate noted that “there is no concrete evidence produced by the prosecution.” He opined, “There is material discrepancy and contradiction.
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There is even unreasonable and unexplained delay in filing the FIR, which raised clouds on the case of the prosecution.” AI Shaikh further added, “It can even be said the complaint is “filed out of grudge or rivalry on the reason of business” between the accused and the informant, the court added. All witnesses are “interest witnesses”. They are involved in the same industry where the accused is also doing business. Therefore, the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Arunabh Kumar stepped down as CEO of TVF (The Viral Fever) in 2017 after multiple sexual harassment accusations were made against him. These accusations were made by several former employees of the company, who claimed that they had experienced sexual harassment or misconduct while working at TVF.
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The allegations sparked widespread outrage and led to a major controversy in the media and entertainment industry in India. In the wake of the accusations, Kumar was arrested and released on bail, and a case was filed against him in a Mumbai court. In September 2022, he was acquitted by the court, which ruled that there was an “unexplained and unreasonable” delay in filing the First Information Report (FIR) in the matter.