Kerala HC grants interim relief to rapper Vedan in rape case

The victim's counsel said in court that two more women had submitted complaints against Vedan to the Kerala Chief Minister, alleging he is a repeat offender

By: Express News Service
Thiruvananthapuram | August 20, 2025 02:37 AM IST

The court asked the counsel how she could substantiate the claim that Vedan was a repeat offender

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted temporary relief for rapper Vedan in a rape case, directing the prosecution not to arrest him until his anticipatory bail petition is reconsidered.

A bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas posted his anticipatory bail plea for Wednesday. The court has impleaded the victim as the third respondent in the case.

The victim’s counsel said in court that two more women had submitted complaints against Vedan to the Kerala Chief Minister, alleging he is a repeat offender.

The court asked the counsel how she could substantiate the claim that Vedan was a repeat offender. It asked whether any case has been registered on the basis of the fresh complaints against the rapper. Earlier, Vedan’s counsel told the court that the relationship between the accused and the complainant was consensual.

Last month, Kochi city police registered the rape case against Vedan alias Hiran Das Murali, 31, after a complaint by a doctor that the rapper sexually harassed her multiple times between 2021 and 2023 after promising to marry her. The complainant said the trauma had left her depressed, leading to delay in filing the complaint.

Since the complaint, Vedan has been absconding, and the police last week issued a lookout notice for him. He had earlier been arrested in narcotics and wildlife cases, but later secured bail in both.

-With PTI inputs

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