Thiruvananthapuram | A court here on Saturday granted anticipatory bail to the second accused in the case against expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman and forcing her to abort pregnancy..

Thiruvananthapuram Principal District and Sessions Court Judge Nazeera S granted pre-arrest bail to Joby Joseph, a close associate of Mamkootathil.

Joseph is accused of having provided abortion pills to the victim, allegedly aborting the pregnancy on the instructions of Mamkootathil.

In his bail plea, Joseph denied the allegation that he had supplied pills to the woman.

However, the prosecution told the court that there was substantial evidence against him, including witness statements.

After hearing both sides, the court granted anticipatory bail to Joseph and directed him not to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence.

He was also instructed to cooperate with the inquiry.

Mamkootathil, whose anticipatory bail plea was earlier rejected by the Sessions Court, has approached the Kerala High Court, which has directed that he should not be arrested until his petition is considered on January 7.

Mamkootathil is facing two cases related to the alleged sexual assault of women.