KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in a rape case registered by the Nemom Police. The court imposed strict conditions while granting him pre-arrest relief and questioned the prosecution’s objections.
In its order, the court said that if the police decide to arrest Rahul, he shall be released on executing a bond of Rs 1 lakh. He has been directed not to leave Kerala, to surrender his passport before the jurisdictional magistrate, and not to contact the complainant or prosecution witnesses. He must also appear before the investigating officer on every second Saturday between 10 am and 11 am.
Allowing the plea, Justice Kauser Edappagath directed the MLA to appear before the investigating officer on February 16, 2026, at 10 am and surrender his mobile phone. He has been asked to undergo interrogation for three consecutive days from 10 am to 4 pm. During this period, he will be deemed to be in custody to facilitate investigation procedures, including medical examination or potency tests, if required.
The case is based on a complaint submitted to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on November 27, 2025. The complaint alleged rape, pregnancy through sexual assault and forced abortion. The Sessions Court in Thiruvananthapuram had earlier rejected his anticipatory bail plea, after which the MLA approached the High Court. His arrest had been stayed in December 2025.
The judge also noted the complainant’s statement that she had been in a consensual relationship with the MLA before the alleged incident on March 17, 2025. She had later travelled to Palakkad, stayed with him for two days and engaged in consensual sex, as per her statement. In view of this, the court asked the prosecution to clarify whether the specific act in question was consensual or forced.
The prosecution argued that the encounter amounted to forced sex and alleged that the MLA had threatened the complainant using video recordings. The court said that the issue related to the alleged videos can be examined separately during the investigation.
In his plea, Mamkootathil admitted that he had a physical relationship with the complainant but maintained that it was consensual. The complainant accused him of presenting distorted facts before the court and alleged that she had faced repeated sexual violence, physical assault and psychological intimidation as part of a sustained pattern of abuse.
Mamkootathil has already secured bail in two other rape cases pending against him.