The Supreme Court on December 13, 2025, stopped the arrest of a karate instructor accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). A Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kumar told Kerala Police not to arrest the 46-year-old man until February 18, 2026, the next hearing date. The court asked him to "scrupulously abide" by conditions under Section 482(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. This means he must cooperate with the police and be available for questioning about the case in Vadakara, Kerala. Despite the trial court and Kerala High Court denying anticipatory bail, the Supreme Court gave him protection from coercive action. Advocate Vipin Nair, representing the man, said the complaint was made five years after the incident due to personal enmity and professional rivalry. He highlighted that his client is an experienced martial arts teacher with over 20 years of spotless service and called the case "patently false and motivated." The petition described the allegations as an "alarming instance of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) being misused by a former student to target and implicate a teacher for personal motives." It added, "What was enacted as a protective statute for safeguarding children from genuine sexual assault has in the present case been weaponised to settle scores and destroy the reputation of the petitioner. Rather than the complainant requiring legal protection, it is the petitioner, a karate instructor aged 46 years with an unblemished record spanning over two decades, who now requires protection from a motivated, belated and vindictive prosecution." The petition also cited a Supreme Court verdict stating, "reputation is earned by a teacher upon rendering service over the years and an accusation like the present would remain as an indelible mark marring his entire future life." The Supreme Court has issued notice to the State of Kerala on this matter.