Mamkootathil ousted from Congress as Court dismisses bail plea in rape case

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 4 (PTI) The Congress on Friday expelled suspended MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who is accused of rape, from the party's primary membership, shortly after a local court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea.

The party, which has been under attack from the CPI(M)-led LDF and the BJP over the issue at a time when it hopes to establish dominance in the local body polls next week, urged Mamkootathil, who is currently absconding, to resign from his Palakkad Assembly seat.

The party's action also followed a fresh rape case registered against Mamkootathil a day earlier on the basis of a complaint received by the party from a 23-year-old woman. The Congress leadership had forwarded the complaint to the police.

"Rahul Mamkootathil, who is currently under suspension, has been expelled from the primary membership of the Congress based on the serious complaints and the cases registered against him," KPCC president Sunny Joseph MLA said in a statement.

He said the expulsion was carried out with the approval of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

Mamkootathil, who was sworn in as an MLA on December 4, 2024, was expelled from the party exactly one year later on December 4, 2025.

Earlier, tightening the noose around Mamkootathil, Thiruvananthapuram Principal District and Sessions Court Judge Nazeera S, after hearing the prosecution and defence counsels for two days, decided to dismiss his anticipatory bail plea.

Both sides produced several pieces of evidence, including audio clips and chat details.

Mamkootathil's counsel maintained that the relationship was consensual, while the prosecution focused on the allegation that he forced the woman to abort the pregnancy by consuming pills.

As the prosecution had relied on material not previously submitted before the court, the judge directed counsel to present the additional documents.

Following the direction, the prosecution submitted further materials collected as evidence on Thursday.

The prosecution also produced details of a fresh sexual assault case registered against Mamkootathil based on a complaint forwarded by the Congress party.

After examining the materials presented by both sides, the court decided to dismiss the petition.

Mamkootathil was booked for raping a woman and forcing her to abort the pregnancy.

"It would be appropriate for him to resign as MLA. Since he is out of the party now, he has to take that decision. We consulted all party leaders and took a united decision," Sunny Joseph said.

Dismissing concerns about any impact on the upcoming local body elections, the KPCC chief said the party’s swift disciplinary action would prevent political damage.

"When the allegation first surfaced, he was removed from the Youth Congress president post and suspended. His actions affected the image of the party, but corrective steps have been taken," he said.

Mamkoottathil won the Palakkad Assembly by-election in November last year by a record margin of 18,724 votes.

A strong critic of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Left government, Mamkoottathil rose to the leadership of the Youth Congress in Kerala through TV debates and with the support of Shafi Parambil MP.

Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, welcomed Mamkootathil's expulsion and alleged that the Chief Minister's Office had prior knowledge of the impending complaint.

"If they knew the complaint was coming, they should have taken steps to prevent him from escaping. Their interest is not in arresting the accused but in dragging the issue until the elections to hide other matters like gold smuggling and misgovernance," he alleged.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said the Congress had taken the strongest and fastest action possible.

Meanwhile, LDF and BJP leaders accused the Congress -- especially MP Shafi Parambil --of protecting Mamkoottathil.

Shafi Parambil MP clarified that his friendship with Mamkootathil was based on efforts to promote young leaders in the Congress.

“I did not bring a personal friend into politics. The friendship developed within the Congress party,” he said.

He said it is the responsibility of leaders like him to support youngsters so that the party has leadership continuity, and he would continue to nurture promising youth.

“But I did not scrutinise anyone personally in depth. We assess their party activities and provide organisational support. It is not support for their personal behaviour,” he said.

He said no complaints of a criminal nature seeking action were received earlier against Mamkoottathil.

“We never supported his personal acts. It was only organisational support. Neither I nor the KPCC received any written complaint,” he said.

CPI(M) leader and General Education Minister V Sivankutty wrote on Facebook that Mamkootathil should resign as MLA.

"Should the Palakkad constituency continue to be represented by Rahul Mamkootathil, who has been expelled from the Congress and is an accused in a rape case? The Congress should insist on obtaining his resignation from the MLA post," he wrote.

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the Congress knew about Mamkootathil's alleged predatory behaviour but did nothing about it.

"The political culture of the Congress is to come to power by giving false promises and then exploiting people when they are in power. This is not the first time Congress has been involved in such acts," he said.

Mamkootathil was suspended from the primary membership of the Congress on August 25. PTI TBA TGB TBA ROH