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Breather for rape-accused Kerala MLA Rahul Mamkootathil as HC prevents his arrest

The Congress on Thursday expelled Rahul Mamkootathil from the primary membership of the party minutes after the Thiruvananthapuram sessions court had rejected the Palakkad MLA's pre-arrest bail petition.

4 min readThiruvananthapuramUpdated: Dec 7, 2025 03:25 AM IST

Kerala MLA Rahul Mamkootathil (Credit: Facebook/Rahul Mamkootathil)

In a reprieve for dismissed Rahul Mamkootathil, MLA, who was expelled from the Congress over rape charges, the Kerala High Court on Saturday prevented his arrest till further orders in an interim order.

The High Court issued the direction while acting upon the legislator’s anticipatory bail plea. The Bench of Justice K Babu said in the order that, “the petitioner shall not be arrested during the pendency. The matter was posted to December 15 for further hearing.”

On Thursday, a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram rejected Mamkootathil’s pre-arrest bail petition, and the Congress dismissed the legislator from the party’s primary membership.

For the last 10 days, Mamkootathil, the MLA from Palakkad, has been absconding after a woman filed a complaint with the police. On Tuesday, he faced another rape case, which allegedly happened in 2023.

Political Pulse | Congress finally acts against MLA Rahul Mamkootathil: Palakkad MLA in eye of sexual misconduct storm is shown the door

In the first case registered at Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram, the former Youth Congress state president was booked for rape, forcing a woman to undergo abortion without her consent, criminal intimidation, and recording her nudity using an electronic gadget.

Mamkootathil, who had become an MLA a year ago following a byelection, had argued that the relationship with the complainant was consensual.

The Congress, which had been criticised in the past weeks for not acting decisively, showed its former Youth Congress president the door after police registered two rape cases against him in a week.

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The scandal had cast a shadow over the Congress at a time when local body elections were a week away. The decision to sack Mamkootathil from the party stemmed from the realisation that the scandal could affect the prospects of the Congress-led UDF, which is struggling for a comeback in the local body elections and the Assembly elections five months away. With the sacking, the Congress hopes to turn the tables on the CPI(M).

Also Read | Who is Rahul Mamkootathil and why did Congress expel him?

Within the Congress, Mamkootathil was believed to have the backing of Opposition Leader V D Satheesan and MP Shafi Parambil. This, party leaders say, helped him get a ticket to contest the byelections in Palakkad despite protests from several local contenders. On Wednesday, M A Shahanas, a leader of the Congress’s cultural and literary outfit, Samskara Sahithi, had alleged that Mamkootathil had sent her inappropriate messages when she returned from Delhi after taking part in the farmers’ agitation. She also alleged that she had warned Parambil about him in the past, but was ignored.

A native of central Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, Mamkootathil is currently the MLA of Palakkad, a seat he won last November in a byelection, which was necessitated after the victory of incumbent legislator Shafi Parambil in the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Vadakara.

Among the young Congress faces, Mamkootathil had been a rising star and the party’s voice on TV debates. That helped him get elected as the Youth Congress state president in 2023. And though he faced allegations of rigging the voters’ list in his favour during the organisational election, he managed to sail through the controversy.

Shaju Philip

Shaju Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, where he leads the publication's coverage from Kerala. With over 25 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political, religious, and developmental landscape of South India. Expertise, Experience, and Authority Decades of Regional Specialization: Shaju has spent more than two decades documenting the "Kerala Model" of development, its complex communal dynamics, and its high-stakes political environment. Key Coverage Beats: His extensive reporting portfolio includes: Political & Governance Analysis: In-depth tracking of the LDF and UDF coalitions, the growth of the BJP in the state, and the intricate workings of the Kerala administration. Crime & Investigative Journalism: Noted for his coverage of high-profile cases such as the gold smuggling probe, political killings, and the state’s counter-terrorism efforts regarding radicalization modules. Crisis Management: He has led ground-level reporting during major regional crises, including the devastating 2018 floods, the Nipah virus outbreaks, and the Covid-19 pandemic response. ... Read More

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