Thiruvananthapuram, Feb. 13 -- Not every instance of consensual sexual intercourse in a failed relationship can be characterised as rape, the Kerala high court observed on Thursday, while granting anticipatory bail to Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in a rape and forced abortion case against him. The court directed Mamkootathil to remain under custody for the purpose of further investigation into the matter.

36-year-old Mamkootathil, expelled from the Congress last year, is accused of sexually assaulting a married woman multiple times at his rented flat in Palakkad and once at her rented apartment in Thiruvananthapuram, causing physical injuries, recording obscene visuals and coercing her to terminate her pregnancy. It was the first of t...