Court grants anticipatory bail to Cong leaders in defamation case linked to MLA Mamkootathil

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 19 (PTI) A court here on Friday granted anticipatory bail to Congress leaders Sandeep Varier and Ranjitha Pulikkan in connection with an online defamation case related to a woman on whose complaint expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil was booked for rape and forced abortion.

The Thiruvananthapuram District and Principal Sessions Court Judge Nazeera S allowed the petitions filed by Varier, a KPCC leader, and Pulikkan, the Pathanamthitta district secretary of the Mahila Congress.

The Thiruvananthapuram Cyber Police had registered the case against activist Rahul Easwar, Pulikkan, lawyer Deepa Joseph, Varier and a vlogger from Palakkad.

Though Easwar was arrested in the case, he was recently granted bail after remaining in jail for over two weeks.

In his petition, Varier said he did not defame the woman and that people had merely shared photographs of the woman’s marriage function, which he had posted on his Facebook page last year.

Pulikkan also maintained that she did not defame the woman and that the allegations against her were false.

After hearing the prosecution and the petitioners, the court, in separate orders, granted anticipatory bail to the duo.

The court directed the petitioners to cooperate with the investigation and strictly restrained them from repeating the alleged offence.

The case arose after Mamkootathil was booked last month for allegedly raping the woman and forcing her to undergo an abortion.

Another sexual assault case was later registered against Mamkootathil based on a complaint by another woman.

In the first case, the Kerala High Court has granted interim protection from arrest to Mamkootathil till his appeal against a Thiruvananthapuram court order denying anticipatory bail is considered.

The Thiruvananthapuram court has granted anticipatory bail to the MLA in the second case. PTI TBA TBA ROH