Businessman Chemmanur apologises to actress Honey Rose, seeks withdrawal of case

KOCHI: Prominent businessman Boby Chemmanur has publicly apologised to Malayalam actress Honey Rose, saying he never intended to hurt her and expressed hope that she would withdraw the criminal case filed against him.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Chemmanur claimed he had always treated people with kindness, respect and consideration, and had never intentionally harmed or mistreated anyone.

He said he often shared humour and light-hearted content on social media but had never intended to offend, hurt or cause distress to anyone.

"But I have come to realise that my statements about Ms Honey Rose have caused significant distress to her and her family. I deeply apologise for the harm I have caused. I take full responsibility for my words and their impact", he said.

Chemmanur said he had never intended to hurt anyone and expressed hope that his "sincere apology" would lead to the case being withdrawn.

He added that he wanted the matter to be considered resolved and was committed to moving forward positively.

Rose has not yet responded to the apology.

The controversy began after the actress accused Chemmanur of making sexually coloured and derogatory remarks about her during a jewellery showroom inauguration event.

Earlier, Rose had said that no one has the right to insult women using the power of money and expressed full faith in India’s legal system.

Chemmanur, for his part, had maintained that he never intended to insult her.

The apology comes months after Chemmanur was arrested in January 2025 by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing a sexual harassment case registered based on a complaint filed by Honey Rose.

He was booked under non-bailable provisions, including Section 75(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for allegedly making sexually coloured remarks amounting to sexual harassment and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.

In her complaint, Rose accused the businessman of making repeated sexually coloured remarks against her through various platforms.

The controversy first came to light when Rose alleged on Facebook that she had been stalked and subjected to sexually inappropriate remarks through various media platforms, prompting her to approach the police.