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

The Kerala High Court on Monday refused to grant anticipatory bail to Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Sukanth Suresh, who is accused of having 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 opined that the possibility of abetment of suicide cannot be ruled out at this stage. "When the petitioner, to whom the deceased was madly in love, to the extent of completely surrendering herself not only physically and mentally but even financially, urged, repeatedly, to end her life to enable him to marry another person, it cannot be concluded, at this early stage, that such a conduct was not an 'instigation' as per Section 45 (definition of abetment) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita," the Court said in its order. .In such circumstances, protecting Suresh from arrest and custodial interrogation would impede the investigation, the Court said. "If in a case of this nature, the suspect is protected by an order of pre arrest bail, the investigating officer will be severely handicapped and an effective probe will be deeply prejudiced," the order stated. .A 24-year-old woman IB officer, who was posted at the Immigration Department of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, 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 him and is currently being investigated by the Police..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.Opposing Suresh's plea for anticipatory bail, the public prosecutor stated that this was a clear case of emotional and financial exploitation. It was also submitted that Suresh was in another relationship while he shared a physical relationship with the deceased.The prosecutor asserted that these facts amounted to cheating as well as abetment of suicide. The prosecutor also alleged that there was evidence pointing to rape as well..The Court had previously questioned the police regarding its apparent inaction in arresting Suresh.In its verdict pronounced today, the Court observed that though Suresh claimed that he is distraught by the death of his girlfriend, the investigation conducted so far has prima facie revealed a different picture altogether.In this regard, the Court noted the following circumstances:Suresh was involved in multiple other relationships almost at the same time and maintained physical relationship with them;Suresh wielded considerable power over the deceased even transferring her monthly salary from Oct 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 submission; and The statement of other witnesses point 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 represented by advocates CP Udayabhanu, Navaneeth N Nath, Rassal Janardhanan A, PR Ajay, Boban Palat, PU Pratheesh Kumar, KU Swapnil, Swetha Bijumon, Pranav Ushakar and RK Asha.The victim's mother was represented by advocates George Mathew, Stephy K Regi, Adithya Benzeer, Medha BS, John Zachariah Dominic, VS Vineeth Kumar, Sunil Kumar AG, Mathew KT, George KV and Boby Mathew..[Read Order]