Kerala HC grants anticipatory bail to Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in 1st rape case

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in the first of three rape cases registered against him, offering major legal relief in a high-profile political controversy.

Justice Kauser Edappagath passed the order while imposing strict conditions, including that Mamkootathil must submit his mobile phone to investigators, appear before the police every second Saturday between 10 am and 11 am, and cooperate fully with the probe. The court also directed him to surrender his passport, barred him from leaving the country, and warned him against influencing witnesses.

The MLA has also been asked to appear for interrogation over the next three days from 10 am to 4 pm and undergo medical examination if required. Mamkootathil had earlier secured bail in the other two rape cases currently pending against him.

Case background

The bail order came on a plea challenging the Thiruvananthapuram Sessions Court’s refusal to grant anticipatory bail in a rape case registered by Nemom Police. His arrest in the case had been stayed by the High Court in December 2025.

During hearings, the court questioned the prosecution’s opposition to bail and observed that consensual relationships between adults are not illegal, asking whether the allegations involved forced sex or consensual intercourse.

The case stems from a complaint submitted directly to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on November 27, 2025, in which a woman accused the Congress MLA of rape, forced abortion, and recording intimate videos without consent. She also alleged that he threatened to circulate the videos to coerce her.

However, the High Court noted that the complainant herself admitted to visiting Mamkootathil after the alleged incident of March 17, 2025, staying with him for two days and engaging in consensual sex, prompting the court to seek clarity from prosecutors on the nature of the allegations.

While the prosecution maintained that the relationship involved coercion and threats, the court said the issue of alleged video recordings could be examined separately.

Following the allegations, the Congress party suspended Rahul Mamkootathil in August 2025, and he later resigned as Youth Congress chief, though he continues to serve as the Palakkad MLA.