Kerala High Court Permits MLA Eldhose Kunnappilly's Counsel To Peruse Case Documents Including Victim's 164 Statement

Hearing a petition seeking cancellation of the order granting anticipatory bail to the Congress MLA Eldhose Kunnappilly in a case accusing him of rape and attempt to murder, the Kerala High Court on Thursday permitted his counsel to examine the documents, including Section 164 CrPC statements of the victim, in the presence of the Court officer on Monday. 

Justice Kauser Edappagath also extended the interim order passed earlier this month directing the accused to appear before the investigating officer every day at 9 AM and cooperate with the investigation till the next posting date. 

In the Petition, moved through Additional Public Prosecutor, it has been argued that the lower court erred in granting pre-arrest bail at the initial stage of investigation. The State has said that custodial interrogation is highly necessary in the case.

It is alleged that on July 4, the accused invited the victim to Somatheeram Resort in Kovalam on the pretext of him having a meeting there, and proceeded to rape her by giving her false assurance that he would look after her "for the rest of her life." The prosecution has alleged that there were several such incidents of physical assault and rape with the victim. 

When the matter was taken up today, the counsel appearing for the accused submitted that the copies of the documents relied on by the State have not been provided to it.

The counsel argued that though he is not entitled to a copy of the statement given by the victim under Section 164 CrPC, in this case, it has been relied upon for seeking the cancellation of bail.

He requested the court that he may be provided with copies of the documents relied upon by the petitioner, which include the statement of the victim under Section 164 CrPC.

The Court observed that the prayer sought for cannot be granted as such; however, it permitted the counsel appearing for the accused to peruse the document in the presence of the Court officer on Monday. 

It further directed the investigating officer to finish the interrogation by Sunday evening as the counsel appearing for the accused further submitted that he wanted to consult with the accused on Sunday. 

The Additional Sessions Court at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala earlier granted anticipatory bail to the MLA. ASJ Prasun Mohan in the order said the victim or rape survivor in her first complaint dated September 28 never "asserted" that the accused raped her "on any dates before the date of presenting the complaint". Survivor was well aware of the fact that the Ist accused is a married man maintaining a family relationship, the court had said.

In the appeal, the State has submitted that the long-standing relationship between the accused and the victim ran into rough weather when she was raped and physically assaulted several times by the accused and while granting anticipatory bail, the lower court should have considered whether prima facie case existed against the petitioner on the basis of the materials placed before the Court, it has argued. 

A similar petition has been moved by the Defacto complainant seeking cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to the accused.  

Case Title: State Of Kerala v. Eldose Kunnapilly

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