The Kerala High Court on Thursday lifted a stay that it had put in 2021 on the trial in a sexual harassment case against Malayalam film actor Unni Mukundan, Live Law reported.

The complainant told the court on Thursday that the stay order had been issued on the basis of a false submission by the actor’s lawyer that the matter was resolved in an out-of-court settlement. The complainant said that she had not signed the affidavit declaring the settlement.

The case dates back to 2017, when the woman had filed a police complaint accusing the actor of sexual harassment. She alleged that Mukundan molested her when she went to his home for a script reading session. Mukundan also filed a case against the woman, alleging that she had cooked up the charges, The News Minute reported.

In May 2021, the Kerala High Court had put a stay on the trial proceedings based on the affidavit about the purported settlement.

Justice K Babu, who was hearing the matter on Thursday, said that the allegations made by the woman about the false settlement were “very serious” in nature, if found to be true.

“The actions of the petitioner would amount to forging and submitting of false documents before the court, which is a criminal offence,” he said, according to Live Law. “This is a fraud on the court and an attempt to mislead it.”

Meanwhile, Mukundan’s lawyer Saiby Jose has been accused of extorting money from his clients by falsely claiming to have settled cases by bribing High Court judges, The News Minute reported. The Vigilance Wing of the court has said that some of the allegations against Jose have been found to be true.