New Delhi, Mar 25: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the anticipatory bail granted to expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in a case of rape and forced abortion against him.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh, while dismissing the survivor’s plea challenging the Kerala High Court’s February 12 order granting him relief, expunged some remarks against her.
“Though we are not inclined to interfere in the ultimate conclusion of the high court, the observations made qua the petitioner are not necessary. Accordingly, they stand expunged,” said the bench.
Counsel for the survivor submitted that the high court’s observations regarding the consensual relationship could adversely affect the trial.
Earlier, the high court had granted anticipatory bail to Mamkootathil, saying the prosecution had been unable to show that his custodial interrogation was necessary.
While granting relief to the Palakkad MLA, Justice Kauser Edappagath of the high court said the conduct of the complainant in the case “prima facie suggests the existence of a consensual sexual relationship” between her and Mamkootathil, but it requires final adjudication at trial.
The court had said that it was “difficult to believe” that the complainant, being a married and mature woman, would invite the MLA to her apartment and subsequently travel to Palakkad to stay with him “unless she was willing to engage in a physical relationship.”
The order had come on the MLA’s plea challenging a Thiruvananthapuram sessions court decision denying him anticipatory bail in the case.
Mamkootathil had been protected from arrest in the case since December 6, 2025.
It was the first case of sexual assault registered against the legislator, who is an accused in two other similar cases.
While he was able to get protection from arrest in two of the three cases, he was arrested in the third and spent over two weeks in custody before being granted regular bail.
