Dr. Ruvais accused of abetting girlfriend's suicide with dowry demands moves Kerala High Court for bail

Dr. Ruvais, who stands charged with abetting the suicide of his girlfriend Dr. Shahana, has moved the Kerala High Court seeking bail. .Dr. Shahana, a postgraduate surgery student at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, recently took her own life because of her family's inability to fulfill the excessive dowry requests made by Ruvais .Ruvais' family is accused of requesting 150 sovereigns of gold, 15 acres of land and a BMW car from Shahana's family - all demands that they were unable to fulfill. .Following the revelation of this incident, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) suspended Ruvais' medical license and he was arrested by the police.On December 7, he was remanded to judicial custody for a period of 14 days.He has been charged with offences punishable under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act..It has been argued in Ruvais's bail application that there is no evidence to support the charge under Section 306 IPC, as there was no immediate provocation or instigation for the suicide.He has also highlighted his clean record and middle-class background in the bail application.Ruvais has asserted that there was no agreement or exchange of dowry between the involved parties and no amount was given or consented to be given.Claiming no formal transaction and no complaints filed by the victim or her relatives, Ruvais has argued that the charges under the Dowry Prohibition Act lack substance.He has also contended that his father had told him that the wedding would be conducted only after completing his education but Dr. Shahana was instigating the petitioner to marry immediately. Ruvais has claimed that he denied her request and went by his father’s advice to wait until completing his education. .Another contention in the bail application is that the case was politically motivated and intended to tarnish his image.As pet the petitioner, he had led many agitations against the State government for an increase of stipend and facilities to medical students, due to which the present proceedings are initiated against him..Justice Gopinath P had earlier sought the response of the State Government and posted the matter to December 20..Ruvais was represented by advocate Nireesh Mathew.