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The Kerala High Court granted anticipatory bail to Malayalam rapper Hiran Das Murali, popularly known as Vedan, in a case alleging rape on the false promise of marriage.
This is not the first time the 25-year-old rapper is facing legal troubles.
The Kerala High Court granted anticipatory bail to Malayalam rapper Hiran Das Murali, popularly known as Vedan, in a case alleging rape on the false promise of marriage, saying that labelling consensual sex as rape after breakup was illogical and harsh.
The case was filed by a lady doctor who alleged that Vedan befriended her through Instagram in 2021, and their relationship grew over time. She claimed that he promised to marry her and, under that assurance, engaged in physical relations on several occasions in Kozhikode, Kochi, and other places between 2021 and 2023.
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The complainant also accused him of sexually harassing her multiple times between 2021 and 2023 and said she was receiving psychiatric treatment for the last two years to recover from the psychological trauma.
However, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed that Vedan continued to live with the doctor for the next three days after the alleged rape and visited her on several occasions afterwards, as reported by Om Manorama.
“It is baffling and difficult to comprehend, at this juncture at least, how, if the petitioner (Vedan) had raped her on the first day, she would still have allowed him to remain in her apartment for the following three days or even on later and regularly engage in a physical relationship with him. The above circumstances are prima facie, suggestive of a consensual relationship,” the judge noted.
The court noted that consent for sexual intercourse on a false promise of marriage and consent on the expectation or assumption of marriage are different, and calling consensual sex as rape after a relationship ended was illogical and harsh.
It also said that just because a promise to marry did not end in marriage, that need not necessarily mean that the sexual relationship was based on a false promise of marriage. If a breakup between consenting couples leads to criminal proceedings and arrest, it can destroy the future of an individual, Justice Thomas further said.
Vedan’s counsel argued that the relationship was consensual, initiated after the complainant approached him as a fan, and that the complaint was the result of personal differences. The court had earlier granted him interim protection from arrest while reserving its final order on his plea.
This is not the first time the 25-year-old rapper has faced legal troubles. Earlier this year, the High Court granted him bail in a separate case relating to possession of a leopard tooth. He was also arrested during a narcotics raid in April.
(with agency inputs)
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
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