Kerala High Court refuses bail to alleged conman Monson Mavunkal in rape cases

The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to grant bail to alleged conman Monson Mavunkal who was arrested in connection with two cases in which he is accused of repeatedly raping two of his staff members [Monson v State of Kerala]..Mavunkal gained notoriety in Kerala after news reports surfaced that he had allegedly conned several people of over ₹10 crore through fake antiques..Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas dismissed Mavunkal's bail applications noting the grievous nature of the offences alleged and his criminal antecedents."Having due regard to the gravity of the offences alleged against the petitioner and the circumstances that are peculiar to the accused, which include the clout of influence and the dominating position held by the petitioner over the survivor and the witnesses, apart from the possibility of evidence being tampered with, I find that this is not a fit case where the petitioner can be released on bail.Several cases are alleged to have been committed by the petitioner and therefore such antecedents cannot be ignored while considering the grant of bail to the petitioner," the order stated..Mavunkal had initially approached the Court seeking bail in three different rape cases. Since trial of one case under Section 376 (rape) IPC coupled with the offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for having raped a minor had already commenced, the Court considered the other two bail applications only.Both cases involved allegations of repeatedly raping the survivors who both worked for Mavunkal.In one of the cases, the survivor allegedly fell pregnant and was forced by Mavunkal to undergo a miscarriage. .Advocate Renjith B Marar, representing Mavunkal, contended that even if the entire allegations in either case are assumed to be correct, still, an offence under Section 376 is not made out, and it can, at the most, reveal only consensual sexual relationships. He argued that, in any event, continued detention is not required and that Mavunkal is willing to abide by any condition that may be imposed by this Court..Additional Director General of Prosecution Grashious Kuriakose, opposed the bail and submitted that considering the peculiar nature of the case and the enormous influence that the petitioner could wield over the gullible witnesses, the petitioner should not be granted bail. .The Court noted that the witnesses in the case include employees of the petitioner and due to the clout of influence wielded by the petitioner, there is every possibility that he may influence witness.Stating that it cannot ignore many criminal antecedents of the petitioner, and the fact that the offences alleged are of a similar nature to the POCSO case in which trial has commenced, the Court declined to grant him bail in either of the instant cases..[Read Orders]