Malayalam top actor Mohanlal was granted bail in a defamation case filed against him by leading writer and literary critic Sukumar Azhikode. The Thrissur chief judicial magistrate granted him bail on the basis of two sureties.

Mohanlal appeared before the CJM Court and he was granted bail on furnishing two sureties of Rs 20,000. The actor prayed to the court for in-camera trial and exemption from appearing in person.

The case was filed by Azhikode alleging that the actor had made defamatory comments against him in the backdrop of the tiff between Malayalam cine artists association AMMA and actor Thilakan last year.

The war of words between the two broke out when Azhikode came in support of thespian actor Thilakan who was served a show cause notice by the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) and subsequently sacked him on grounds of indiscipline.