Expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil granted bail in third sexual assault case

Expelled Congress leader Rahul Mamkootathil on Wednesday received bail from a Kerala court in the third sexual assault case against him.

The expelled MLA, who was arrested earlier this month in relation to the case, was granted bail by the Pathanamthitta District Sessions Court.

Principal District and Sessions Judge N Harikumar passed the bail order, reported Bar and Bench.

Bail was granted after Mamkootathil appealed against a judicial magistrate's court that had denied him relief earlier, stating that the allegations against him were serious that the expelled Congress leader had "similar antecedents".

The third sexual assault case was registered against the Palakkad MLA under Sections 376 (rape) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following a complaint lodged by a woman from Kottayam district on 8 January.

He was arrested in the case on 11 January this year in Palakkad in connection with the case, in which the woman alleged that he had sexually assaulted her in 2024.

The expelled MLA, however, denied the allegation, claiming that his relationship with the complainant was consensual and that he was unaware that the woman was in marital relationship.

Earlier, Mamkootathil had received protection from arrest from the Kerala High Court and a Thiruvananthapuram sessions court in the first two sexual assault cases, which were registered based on complaints by two different women.

(This is a developing story. Check back for updates)