Today, on 17th January, A Kerala court dismissed the bail application of expelled Congress leader and Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in connection with a newly registered third rape case against him. The order was passed by Judge Arundhanthi Dileep of Thiruvalla Magistrate Court.
KERALA: A Kerala court dismissed the bail application of expelled Congress leader and Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in relation to a recently filed third rape case against him.
The order was issued by Judge Arundhanthi Dileep of the Thiruvalla Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. The hearing was in-camera.
Mamkootathil was arrested on January 11 from a hotel in Palakkad following a complaint from a woman based in Thiruvalla, who alleged that he had sexually assaulted her in 2024.
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The MLA has denied the charges, claiming that his relationship with the complainant was consensual and that he was unaware of her marital status. He stated that he ended the relationship as soon as he learned that she was married and contended that the allegations were part of an effort to damage his public image.
After his arrest, he was brought before the trial court for remand, where the police sought custody for further interrogation. He was remanded to three days of police custody, culminating on the evening of January 15.
The trial court considered his bail application on January 16 in a closed session before ultimately rejecting the request for bail.
The Court rejected Rahul’s claim that the relationship was entirely consensual. Although the defence relied on chat screenshots and audio messages to portray the relationship as friendly and voluntary, the court declined to accept this argument and also did not entertain alleged procedural lapses raised regarding the FIR.
During the nearly two hours hearing ,the prosecution maintained that there were no defects in the registration of the case and described Rahul as a repeat offender. It argued that granting bail could enable him to influence the survivor and interfere with evidence. The court accepted these submissions, following which Rahul indicated his intention to move a fresh bail application before the Pathanamthitta District Court.
Rahul Mamkootathil was arrested on Sunday in connection with the third rape case and subsequently remanded to judicial custody by the Thiruvalla Magistrate Court. The complaint was lodged by a woman from Kottayam who is currently settled abroad. During the investigation, Rahul reportedly admitted before the Special Investigation Team that he had checked into a hotel room in April 2024, the period during which the alleged sexual assault took place.
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With this latest allegation, Mamkootathil is now facing three sexual assault cases. In one previous case, a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram had granted him anticipatory bail, while the Kerala High Court has extended the interim protection from arrest for expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil by two weeks in connection with a case involving the alleged rape of a woman and coercing her to terminate her pregnancy.
The Congress party initially suspended his membership in August of last year amid the sexual misconduct allegations. Mamkootathil resigned from his role as Youth Congress Chief and was subsequently expelled from the party. However, he continues to serve as the MLA for the Palakkad constituency.
In previous rape cases, the allegations against the MLA stem from a complaint reportedly emailed by the survivor, which was later forwarded by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Sunny Joseph to the State Police Chief. As per the complaint, Mamkootathil allegedly reached out to the woman using her Telegram contact and persuaded her to meet, stating it was regarding a “potential marriage proposal”.
She has alleged that he first took her to a resort in 2023 and later to a secluded homestay along with a friend, where the sexual assault reportedly occurred. She also claimed that the incident left her with “several injuries on her body”.
Senior counsel Sasthamangalam Ajithkumar and advocate Sekhar G Thampi represented Mamkootathil in court.
Case Title: Rahul BR @Rahul Mamkootathil v State of Kerala
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