'No Special Considerations Because Accused Is A Lawyer' : Kerala High Court On Former Govt Pleader's Anticipatory Bail Application In Rape Case

The Kerala High Court on Monday orally noted that former Senior Government Pleader P.G. Manu who is presently facing allegations of sexual assault of a female client on the guise of providing legal assistance for her, ought not to be given special consideration solely on the ground that he is a lawyer.Manu had resigned from his post as Senior Government Pleader following allegations of raping the woman victim who had approached him for legal advice. "It should not appear that because the accused is a lawyer, some special consideration is being granted...whatever be the status of the accused, the same considerations ought to apply," Justice Gopinath P. said. The Court also allowed the impleading application by the victim in the case. The victim in this case, who was also the victim in an identical case wherein she had been sexually exploited by another individual had allegedly approached the petitioner for settling her case before the Court. The allegation against the petitioner is that he established an 'unholy relationship' under the guise of taking instructions, and raped the victim at her house and his office. It is also alleged that the petitioner transmitted nude photos of the victim to others. The petitioner submitted that the prosecution allegations were false, and that the registration of the case itself was a 'calculated attempt' from the part of some professional rivalries' of the petitioner. The petitioner argued that the aforementioned persons colluded with the victim and forced her to give false statement against the petitioner. "Further, the conduct of the de facto complainant and her agents after registration of the crime makes it evident that their only intention is to tarnish the image and spoil the career of the petitioner, as they are circulating defamatory and derogatory contents against the petitioner through social media," the plea states. It is on these grounds that the petitioner moved the application for anticipatory bail, in the event of his arrest. The matter has been posted for further consideration next Tuesday. The plea has been moved through Advocates C.P. Udayabhanu, Navaneeth N. Nath, Rassal Janardhanan A., Abhishek M. Kunnathu, Boban Palat, P.U. Pratheesh Kumar, P.R. Ajay, and K.U. Swapnil. Case Title: P.G. Manu v. State of Kerala Case Number: Bail Appl. 10796/ 2023

'No Special Considerations Because Accused Is A Lawyer' : Kerala High Court On Former Govt Pleader's Anticipatory Bail Application In Rape Case

Navya Benny

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