Kerala High Court Denies Pre-Arrest Bail To Accused In Rape Case Of Olympian Mayookha Johny's Friend

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of C.C Johnson, the man accused of raping Olypian Mayookha Johny's friend, and for capturing her nude photographs to blackmail her.

Justice Shircy V while dismissing the petition informed the accused, "You will have to surrender before the Police."

The anticipatory bail plea was filed in connection a matter where the Olympian athlete's friend was allegedly raped and blackmailed by the petitioner herein in 2016. The victim had filed a complaint on 20th March 2021 alleging that CC Johnson who serves at the Emperor Emmanuel Church, broke into her residence on 9th July 2016 and raped her. Following the incident, it was contended that he threatened to publish her nude photos and videos, and regularly abused her over text messages on her phone.

The victim later turned out to be Johny's friend. The athlete subsequently made headlines after holding a press conference levelling serious allegations against the investigation agencies in the case. She alleged that her friend was being threatened and that the investigation had come to a standstill due to the intervention of highly influential persons in favour of the accused.

Last month, the Court had called for the investigating officer's report in the case while hearing the victim's plea for SIT probe.

In his pre-arrest bail plea, the petitioner had submitted that the complaint was filed five years after the alleged incident occurred, and claimed it was an outcome of differences between two factions of the Emperor Emmanuel Church. He added that the complaint was filed by the victim after he left the church.

The prosecution had vehemently opposed the application on the ground that custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary for progress in the matter and that his phone was yet to be recovered. 

Advocate P. A Ayub Khan represented the defacto complainant in the matter, while Advocate Shruthy N Bhat appeared for the petitioner. 

Case Title: C.C Johnson v State of Kerala