Sandeep Varier
| Photo Credit: K K Mustafah
The Principal Sessions Judge, Thiruvananthapuram, S. Nazeer, on Wednesday (December 10, 2025) deferred considering the anticipatory bail plea of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary Sandeep Varier, who the police have accused of defaming and revealing the identity of the survivor in the rape indictment against Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, to December 15.
The prosecution told the court that it required more time to process and forensically examine the “incriminating” social media posts attributed by the complainant to Mr. Varier. It was unclear whether the judge had stayed Mr. Varier’s arrest till the next hearing.
The Thiruvananthapuram City Cyber Police had indicted Mr. Varier as an accused in the case last week.
They have accused him of posting the photographs of the survivor participating in a social event on his social media handles.
Mr. Varier has since protested the charges. He said he would fight the case legally and politically. Mr. Varier had also accused a DYFI leader of disseminating the survivor’s photographs on social media.
The FIR also named Mahila Congress district general secretary, Pathanamthitta, Renjitha Pulickan, lawyer Deepa Joseph, and YouTuber Rahul Easwar as co-accused in the case.
Last week, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Elsa Catherine George, remanded Mr. Easwar in judicial custody after the police accused him of identifying and defaming the survivor, repeatedly outraging her modesty in the public domain to criminally intimidate her and dissuade her from pressing charges against Mr. Mamkootathil.
The police had also indicted Mr. Easwar for allegedly procuring, storing, and publishing the photographs and particulars of the victim through social media, slurring the survivor’s integrity and passing vulgar sexual remarks against her.
Meanwhile, the prosecution has moved the court for Mr. Easwar’s custody for a second time. The State-side accused Mr. Easwar of being uncooperative and reluctant to disclose the password of the digital devices, including mobile phones and laptops, involved in the crime.
The prosecution also argued that releasing the suspect on bail would impede the course of the investigation and open the window for evidence tampering and further intimidation of the survivor.
The court has posted the prosecution’s custody application for further hearing later on Wednesday (December 10, 2025).
Published – December 10, 2025 12:56 pm IST
