Rahul Easwar withdraws bail application after dressing down from court

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rahul Easwar, who was arrested for cyberbullying a sexual assault case complainant, withdrew his bail application filed in the District Sessions Court. The application was withdrawn in the context of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's court considering the petition.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Elsa Catherine George took the stand that the bail application filed in the District Court be withdrawn first, and documents be produced to continue with the hearing process. The case was thus adjourned. The prosecution brought this matter to the court's attention after hearing the opening arguments.

Rahul Easwar, in his opening statement, argued that the information in his posts replicated the police FIR against Rahul Mamkootathil and firmly reiterated that he had committed nothing illegal. The court said that the FIR in the sexual harassment case cannot be considered a public record. The defence said they were ready to make corrections if there happened to be any video or photo related to the survivor, posted on social media. Rahul’s lawyer requested that his client be granted bail since the documents requested by the police have been found.

The prosecution argued that the petition should not be considered since even the bail application is illegal. “The accused is not cooperating with the investigation. He is not willing to provide the password of the recovered laptop.” The prosecution also informed that this is seriously affecting the investigation.

Meanwhile, Rahul, who is on a hunger strike in jail, was admitted to the Medical College Hospital after his health condition deteriorated. He was taken to the hospital for primary treatment yesterday afternoon.