The Kerala High Court has granted anticipatory bail to two lawyers, who were accused of raping and sexually abusing their client on multiple occasions.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Gopinath P. granted anticipatory bail to the petitioners on the grounds that while the victim/de facto complainant averred that she had been sexually abused from the moment she had first approached the first petitioner to entrust her case, the complaint in this regard was filed only in June, 2023.
The High Court observed that a cumulative reading of all the complaints preferred by the de facto complainant/victim would indicate that she was abused right from the time she had first approached the first petitioner seeking his professional help in 2021. However, she filed the first complaint on June 30, 2023.
Noting that this itself may not be fatal to the prosecution case, the Bench said the fact gave weightage to the argument of the counsel for the petitioners that the victim had actually filed a complaint being aggrieved by the fact that she did not receive sufficient compensation in the proceedings before the Family Court.
The de facto complainant had initially approached the first petitioner in 2021 for the purpose of filing proceedings before the Family Court, Kozhikode for obtaining divorce from her husband.
As per the woman, the first petitioner sexually abused her on the very first instance, after spiking her drink. She alleged that the first petitioner had thereafter assured her that she would be taken care of just as his wife and that her daughter’s education would also be taken care of.
She further stated that the first petitioner had also promised her that he would purchase a house for her in Kozhikode. The woman alleged that the first petitioner and his colleague (second petitioner) sexually abused her, and that the former also recorded certain nude pictures of her on his phone.
The counsel for the petitioners submitted that they were both fairly successful Advocates practising in the courts at Tellicherry and at Kozhikode. He alleged that the woman filed the complaint after coming to know about the wedding of the first petitioner’s daughter, which was scheduled for July 1, 2023.
The lawyer argued that the woman had been aggrieved by not receiving sufficient compensation following her divorce, and by the fact that although the petitioners had offered her financial promises and other help, none of the same had been kept.
The petitioners submitted that following the advice of their family and relatives, an amount of Rs 3 lakh had been granted to the de facto complainant, pursuant to which she gave a letter to the City Police Commission stating that any relationship between herself and the petitioners had been purely consensual, and that she did not wish to prosecute the complaint.
Opposing the bail, Senior Public Prosecutor Vipin Narayan and Advocate Luke J. Chirayil submitted that the first petitioner was a former District Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor, having considerable significance in the Police Department. However, the de facto complainant was a single mother making her living by running a tailoring shop.
The counsel submitted that the de facto complainant was a hapless woman, who had been raped by the petitioners, and that the grant of anticipatory bail to them would send a wrong message to the society and public at large.
The High Court, while noting that the allegations raised against the petitioners were serious, noted that the de facto complainant had only filed the complaint in June 2023, while the Family Court verdict in her case had been rendered in January 2023.
While granting anticipatory bail to the petitioners, the single-judge Bench directed the Assistant Superintendent of Police, Thalassery, to carry out a full and free investigation into the allegations.
Advocates S. Rajeev, V. Vinay, M.S. Aneer, Prerith Philip Joseph, Anilkumar C.R., Sarath K.P. and K.S. Kiran Krishnan appeared for the petitioners.
(Case Title: X & Anr vs State of Kerala & Ors)