Overview
- India’s Supreme Court, which heard the case on Wednesday, left the Kerala High Court’s anticipatory bail for expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil intact and ordered that certain remarks about the complainant be removed.
- The survivor’s appeal said the High Court ran a mini-trial by weighing WhatsApp chats and voice clips and by suggesting the relationship was consensual, which she argued could taint the trial.
- The Kerala High Court’s February 12 order granted pre-arrest protection after finding no need for custodial questioning and pointed to visits, messages, and abortion-pill references as signs of a consensual relationship.
- Anticipatory bail is a pre-arrest safeguard that does not decide guilt, and courts are expected to make only a basic, first-look assessment at this stage rather than detailed findings about credibility or consent.
- The case stems from a November 28, 2025 FIR in Thiruvananthapuram alleging rape and a forced miscarriage, and it is the first of three sexual-offence cases registered against the legislator, who was arrested in one and later got regular bail.