Kerala High Court grants bail to IB officer Sukanth Suresh in girlfriend's suicide case

The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted bail to Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Sukanth Suresh who was arrested on allegations that he played a role in the suicide of his 24-year-old girlfriend and colleague [Sukanth Suresh P v. State of Kerala & Ors.].

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas passed the order after noting that there was no need to keep Suresh in custody further, since he had surrendered before the police and has been in jail for nearly 44 days.

"The petitioner’s application for anticipatory bail was dismissed by this Court earlier. Thereafter, he surrendered and has been in custody since May 27, 2025. The main purposes of the investigation have already been carried out. The petitioner’s mobile phone has been retrieved and the data has been sent for forensic analysis. Even though the petitioner has been alleged to have sexually exploited the victim  under fals promise of marriage further and also abetted the commission of suiced, further custody is not necessary since there is no chance of the petitioner influencing the victim or tampering with evidence," the Court's order said.

The case against Suresh concerns the death of a 24-year-old woman IB officer, who was posted at the Immigration Department of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. She was found dead near the railway tracks at Chakka on March 24.

The Pettah Police registered a first information report (FIR) following a complaint by the deceased's father.

The father alleged that his daughter had been in a relationship with 31-year-old Suresh, who took her salary over several months and later refused to marry her.

A case under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with abetment of suicide, was registered against Suresh.

Suresh subsequently moved the High Court for anticipatory bail, asserting that he played no role in his former girlfriend's death.

He contended that the two were in a consensual live-in relationship and that they had mutually agreed to marry.

Suresh's counsel submitted that the deceased was under severe pressure from her parents, which led to her suicide.

In May this year, the Court denied Suresh's plea for anticipatory bail, opining that there was a need for the police to interrogate him in custody to unearth the truth. At the time, the High Court had observed that though Suresh claimed that he was distraught by the death of his girlfriend, police investigation prima facie revealed a different picture altogether.

In this regard, the Court had noted the following circumstances:

• Suresh was involved in multiple other relationships almost at the same time and maintained physical relationships with them;

• Suresh wielded considerable power over the deceased even transferring her monthly salary from October 2024;

• The victim became pregnant through Suresh, which was later aborted;

• Part of the WhatsApp chat retrieved from a deleted account revealed that Suresh was harassing the deceased mentally and exerting dominance and compelling the deceased to submit to him; and

• The statement of other witnesses pointed to Suresh repeatedly prompting her to die and even goading her to fix the date of her death.

The Court said that in the face of these circumstances, custodial interrogation of Suresh may be necessary to unearth the truth.

Suresh was arrested a day after the High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. Following this, he eventually moved a regular bail plea, which was been allowed by the Court today.