The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to rapper Hirandas Murali, known as Vedan, in a rape case, saying that while the charges against him were serious, his custodial interrogation was not necessary.Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas granted the relief to the rapper who was accused by a lady doctor of entering into a sexual relationship with her on the promise of marriage and later withdrawing from the same.
She has also accused him of sexually harassing her multiple times between 2021 and 2023.
The High Court said “it is prima facie discernible” that the acquaintance between the rapper and the woman commenced in the year 2021 at her instance and continued till March 2023, when they broke up.
“There were numerous occasions when they stayed together and had physical relationships…. In such circumstances, denying anticipatory bail to the petitioner (Vedan) would result in serious prejudice,” it said.
The court further said that if break-up of a relationship between consenting couples lead to criminal proceedings and arrest, “it will have the tendency to destroy the future of an individual”.
It said that the proposition assumes significance as in the instant case, there were prima facie materials to assume that the relationship between the rapper and the woman was consensual all along and “was between persons who had the ability to comprehend the nature of the act and its consequences”.