The Kerala High Court has extended the order of stay on the arrest of actor Mohammed Farmaan Khan while considering his anticipatory bail plea, in a kidnapping case filed by the father of a woman he married in March.

The Madhya Pradesh Police, which registered an FIR in this connection, contended before the High Court that anticipatory bail cannot be granted to Mr. Khan as he was charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

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The M.P. Police had earlier challenged the bail plea and submitted that such petitions can only be filed before the courts which have the jurisdiction of the area where the crime was registered. In response, the petitioners submitted that the petition was moved in the Kerala High Court, as they apprehended dangers in Madhya Pradesh.

An FIR was registered against Mr. Khan, and a probe was launched by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe after the woman’s father claimed that she was minor.

The woman later approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court, challenging the claims by her father regarding age.