The Thiruvananthapuram Principal District and Sessions Court on Saturday granted anticipatory bail to the co-accused in a rape and forced miscarriage case involving MLA Rahul Mamkootathil. The second accused, Joby Joseph, a friend of Mamkootathil, is alleged to have handed over abortion pills to the survivor.

Allowing the plea filed by Joby Joseph, Principal District and Sessions Judge Smt Nazeera S observed that there was no prima facie material to show that he had knowledge of the survivor’s alleged reluctance to terminate the pregnancy. According to the plea, the survivor had requested the petitioner to collect certain tablets from a medical representative and hand them over to her. He said he was unaware that the tablets were intended to induce a miscarriage. The petitioner also submitted a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat dated May 30, 2025 to support his claim that the survivor had asked him to collect the medicine.

While granting anticipatory bail, the court noted that Joby Joseph appeared to have acted on the instructions of Mamkootathil. “The role of the petitioner in the offence alleged is a matter of evidence. It would be a travesty of justice if the petitioner is put behind bars if actually no offence as alleged was committed by him,” the court observed, adding that no criminal antecedents had been brought to its notice. Pre-arrest bail was granted subject to conditions.

According to the prosecution, Mamkootathil befriended the woman through social media when she was living separately from her husband, offering psychological support and promising a lasting relationship. It is alleged that he persuaded her to have a child with him and forcefully had sexual intercourse with the intention of impregnating her. The prosecution further claimed that he recorded nude videos of the woman and later threatened her.

The prosecution alleged that Mamkootathil continued to sexually assault the woman even after she became pregnant and subsequently compelled her to undergo an abortion by making her consume abortion pills.

The accused have been booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 64(2)(f), 64(2)(h) and 64(2)(m) relating to rape, Section 89 for causing miscarriage without the woman’s consent, Section 115(2) for voluntarily causing hurt, Section 351(3) for criminal intimidation, and Section 3(5), along with Section 66(E) of the Information Technology Act for violation of privacy.

Earlier, the Sessions Court had denied anticipatory bail to MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in the same case. He later approached the Kerala High Court, which granted him interim protection from arrest.