Kerala HC Grants Interim Protection to Congress MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil in Rape Case

The Kerala High Court on Saturday granted substantial interim relief to Congress legislator Rahul Mamkoottathil by restraining the state police from arresting him until December 15 in a criminal case accusing him of rape and forcibly terminating the complainant’s pregnancy, with Justice K Babu scheduling a comprehensive hearing on the anticipatory bail plea for the coming weeks.

Delivering the order, Justice Babu invoked the fundamental principle that no person shall be deprived of liberty or condemned unheard, particularly when serious contentions have been raised before a constitutional court. The judge explicitly noted that the MLA’s primary defence—that the entire physical relationship was consensual and mutually pursued—deserved careful examination before any custodial action could be sanctioned.

The court further observed that the admitted existence of a consensual relationship at some stage, combined with the petitioner’s assertion of political vendetta ahead of elections, created sufficient grounds to temporarily stay arrest. Justice Babu clarified that the interim protection was granted without prejudice to the merits of the allegations and solely to ensure a fair opportunity for the defence to be presented.

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According to the detailed anticipatory bail petition, the complainant, a woman legally separated from her husband, entered into a prolonged intimate relationship with the MLA involving regular communication and multiple meetings. The situation reportedly deteriorated after private voice clips and chats were leaked on social media, severely compromising her privacy and triggering workplace demands for a written explanation linking her long leave to the relationship.

The plea contends that the complaint was lodged belatedly and unconventionally—directly with the Chief Minister’s office instead of the nearest police station—and bears marks of political orchestration. Mamkoottathil claims he possesses extensive communication records that corroborate his version of events, but required judicial protection to collate and produce them without the immediate threat of arrest, as police teams were actively pursuing him even before he could approach the court.

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