A second complaint by another woman, in which an FIR has also been registered, remains outside the purview of Saturday's order.
Published Dec 06, 2025 | 11:56 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 06, 2025 | 1:07 PM
Palakkad MLA and former Youth Congress president Rahul Mamkootathil
Synopsis: The interim order was issued by a bench led by Justice K Babu, considering the legislator’s anticipatory bail plea moved after the Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sessions Court rejected his earlier request for pre-arrest protection.
In a brief reprieve for Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who has been absconding for ten days following allegations of rape and forced abortion, the Kerala High Court on Saturday, 6 December, temporarily stayed his arrest in one of the cases registered against him.
The interim order was issued by a bench led by Justice K Babu, considering the legislator’s anticipatory bail plea moved after the Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sessions Court rejected his earlier request for pre-arrest protection.
Rahul’s petition, listed as Item 32, was taken up at the very start of the sitting after his counsel urgently mentioned the matter.
Without hearing detailed arguments, the court granted an interim stay on arrest until 15 December, when the plea will be considered in detail.
However, the protection applies only to the first FIR involving allegations of sexual exploitation.
A second complaint by another woman, in which an FIR has also been registered, remains outside the purview of Saturday’s order. It’s learnt police are free to arrest the MLA in that case if they deem it necessary.
At the same time, in his anticipatory bail application, the MLA contends: He has “done no wrong” and is willing to cooperate with the investigation.
The plea further noted, that the complainant was “close” to him, and the fallout occurred after private voice clips of their conversations were leaked on social media.
Both had agreed not to pursue a case regarding the leaked audio, but the matter “escalated due to media attention” and “political exploitation,” the petition claims.
“The late complaint requires preliminary inquiry, citing Supreme Court observations. The allegation of forced abortion is ‘misleading,’ and the relationship was consensual, which, he argues, takes it outside the definition of rape,” the petition added.
He asserts that there is no need for custodial interrogation.
The petition adds that he “possesses further details” but is unable to provide them because “the police are after him.”
Despite securing interim relief, Rahul continues to remain untraceable.
Police teams have been attempting to locate him since the first case was registered, but he has evaded arrest for ten days.
The High Court’s interim order gives the MLA a brief window of legal protection in one case, even as the political and legal storm around him deepens with the second FIR still active.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday alleged that the Congress leadership is actively protecting MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who is absconding in connection with rape cases registered against him.
Speaking at a Meet the Press event in Thrissur, the Chief Minister said the Kerala High Court’s temporary stay on Rahul’s arrest in the first case was “part of the natural court process”, and dismissed allegations that the police were deliberately avoiding his detention.
“The police could not find Rahul. The claim that they are intentionally not arresting him is false,” Vijayan said.
“Rahul’s colleagues arranged everything required for him to go into hiding. Those colleagues are Congress workers and leaders. He is even being protected outside Kerala. The Congress knows where he is, and they should inform the police.”
The Chief Minister questioned why Rahul had slipped into Karnataka and who provided protection there.
“This person with a criminal nature is not hiding solely based on his own ability. He has the protection of the political leadership. Wasn’t he seen as a future investment? Steps are being taken to shield him in that capacity. If we probe further, we will understand who all are involved,” he added.
Vijayan also downplayed the political criticism surrounding the High Court’s interim stay on Rahul’s arrest. He said it is routine practice in Kerala for the police to wait until a court decides on a pending bail application.
“There is nothing wrong with arresting someone when a bail application is pending. But the usual practice is to wait. The case has been posted by the High Court for hearing on a date it fixed. This is the normal court process,” he said.
Soon after receiving interim relief from the High Court in the first rape case, Rahul Mamkootathil moved swiftly to seek protection from arrest in the second case.
The MLA on Saturday filed an anticipatory bail application before the Sessions Court in connection with the second rape complaint lodged by a 23-year-old Bengaluru woman.
The petition is expected to be considered later on Saturday.
Rahul’s application argues that the case was registered “merely on the basis of an email” that did not even include the name of the complainant.
The move comes amid indications that the police were preparing to arrest him in the second case after the High Court blocked his arrest in the first.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
