Supreme Court grants bail to two Kerala lawyers accused of raping a client

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to two Kerala lawyers accused of raping their client (XXX v. MJ Johnson et al.).

A bench of justice Hrishikesh Roy and justice Prashant Kumar Mishra said in his order:

“The defendants are two lawyers who are accused of raping their client in a dominant position. The Supreme Court erred by granting them early bail. Learned senior counsel for the defendants have submitted that the defendants were arrested on 06.05.2024.” . The investigation into the case is ongoing. Taking into account the circumstances, we believe it is appropriate to grant the person concerned bail.

The court has made it clear that if released on bail, the two lawyers must maintain a distance and not communicate in any way with the victim or other witnesses related to the case.

On December 1, the top court had stayed a Kerala High Court order granting anticipatory bail to the two lawyers. The court had sought the response of the Government of Kerala and the accused in the plea filed by the survivor/victim against granting bail to the lawyers of the accused.

Attorney on record Jogy Scaria today represented the bereaved family and argued that the interim bail granted by the Supreme Court was perverse. The court agreed with that argument but said it would grant bail as the two lawyers were now in custody.

In its order granting interim bail to the two lawyers, the Supreme Court noted that the survivor had filed a complaint against the accused only in June 2023, although she had claimed that she was from the time she had contacted one of the lawyers, was sexually abused is filing her divorce case in family court in 2021.

The Supreme Court considered that the material on record appeared to support the contention that the complaint was filed because the applicant regretted that she had not received adequate compensation during the divorce proceedings.

The prosecution’s case was that the two practicing lawyers sexually abused their client after she turned to one of them for legal advice in her divorce case.

It is alleged that the said lawyer invited her to a hotel and sexually assaulted her after plying her with alcohol.

It was further alleged that the said lawyer had promised to buy her a house and take care of her children. The abuse allegedly continued and she was asked to come to Thallasery where the second lawyer also abused her.

Additionally, it was alleged that the first lawyer recorded nude images and videos of the victim on his cell phone.

Both the lawyers have been charged with offenses under Sections 376 (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). .

The defendant denied the survivor’s allegations and claimed that she filed a police report after failing to receive sufficient compensation in her divorce proceedings.

It was alleged that she was also distressed that the plaintiff’s lawyers were unable to honor her offers to provide her with financial support for her child’s education or the purchase of a house.

Further, on the advice of their friends and relatives, the lawyers ultimately transferred ₹300,000 to the survivor, it said.

The lawyers also submitted that the survivor made a statement to the Kozhikode Police Commissioner on July 3 this year that the relationship between her and the accused was purely consensual and that she did not wish to pursue the complaint in any way.

Senior advocate R. Basant appeared for the accused lawyers.