A sessions court in Kerala’s Ernakulam on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Malayalam actor and Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA M Mukesh in a rape case, The Indian Express reported on Saturday.
Mukesh has been booked on the complaint of an actor who alleged that he raped her in 2010 at his Kochi flat after promising her a membership in the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists.
On August 26, the actor had levelled allegations of sexual misconduct, and physical and verbal assault against several colleagues and technicians in the Malayalam film industry, including Mukesh and former general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists Edavela Babu.
Subsequently, a case was filed against the Mukesh, who is the MLA from Kollam, and Babu, among others. On Thursday, Judge Honey M Varghese also granted anticipatory bail to Babu.
While granting bail to Mukesh, Varghese noted that the complainant had not alleged “forced sexual intercourse” in her first statement against the actor-turned-politician, The Indian Express reported.
“There is a clear distinction between rape and consensual sex,” the judge remarked, noting that the allegation was made only after the first hearing of Mukesh’s bail petition.
Varghese also pointed out that the complainant had also sought money from Mukesh to pay her child’s school fees, in addition to a separate sum of Rs 1 lakh.
“There would...
