Pathanamthitta (Kerala) | A Kerala court on Friday heard arguments on the bail plea of expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil and kept it for orders on January 17.

Thiruvalla Judicial First Class Magistrate Arudhathi Dilip heard the arguments behind closed doors on the request of the prosecution.

In his plea filed through advocate Sasthamangalam S Ajithkumar, the MLA has claimed that his arrest and the FIR against him in the third sexual assault case were illegal.

There were two cases of sexual assault lodged against Mamkootathil on complaints by two separate women and he has been protected from arrest in both of them by the Kerala High Court and a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram.

The third sexual assault case under Sections 376 (rape) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was recently registered against the Palakkad MLA following a complaint lodged by a native of Kottayam district on January 8.

He was arrested in the case on January 11 from Palakkad.

The other grounds for grant of bail raised by the MLA include non-signing of her statement by the complainant before any authority, her medical examination has not yet been carried out and the grounds of arrest were not communicated to him when he was taken into custody.

Mamkootathil has claimed that he and the complainant, who was married, were having a consensual relationship.

He has also claimed that the complainant booked the hotel room where he met her.

The plea also claims that the complainant sought a personal meeting with Mamkootathil in October last year, more than a year after the alleged incident of sexual assault on April 8, 2024.