Plea before Kerala High Court to cancel bail of rape accused tattoo artist Sujeesh

The Kerala High Court on Thursday issued notice to the State government and rape accused tattoo artist Sujeesh, in a plea to cancel bail granted to Sujeesh by a lower court. .The Kochi-based tattoo artist is accused of sexually assaulting and raping multiple women while he was tattooing them. He was arrested by the Kerala Police on March 6,2022.On April 8, the Additional Sessions Judge Shibu Thomas granted bail to Sujeesh in two cases of rape that was registered against him.The Court had previously denied him bail and dismissed his first bail application on March 22However, it allowed Sujeesh's second bail application, preferred through advocates Geo Paul and CR Pramod..Today, Justice Kauser Edappagath, admitted the plea moved by one of the complainants who raised allegations of rape against Sujeesh seeking cancellation of his bail. The Court also issued notice to the State and to Sujeesh. .The plea moved through advocates Raghul Sudheesh, KJ Glaxon, J Lakshmi and Bini Das, stated that the investigation is at an advanced stage and that the petitioner fears that if the Sujeesh continues to be out on bail, he may try to tamper with evidence and influence or intimidate witnesses.It was further contended that the Sessions Court failed to take note of the fact that the tattoo studio was earlier located within the jurisdiction of the Palarivattom Police Station and that there are FIRs registered against Sujeesh there as well.Moreover, the Sessions Court failed to take note of the several other instances of sexual harassment/rape committed by the accused and the fact that victims are from various parts of Kerala and even includes one foreign national, the plea stated.It was pointed out that the Supreme Court has laid down in several decisions that bail may be revoked where the court has considered irrelevant factors or has ignored relevant material available on record which renders the order granting bail legally untenable. On these grounds, the petitioner sought for orders cancelling the bail granted to Sujeesh..There are currently at least 7 FIRs registered against Sujeesh, two for rape and the others for sexual assault under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code.A Judicial First Class Magistrate allowed Sujeesh's application for bail in five of the cases where he was accused of sexual assault.The floodgates of the accusations against Sujeesh, the owner of 'Inkfected' tattoo studio, were opened with an anonymous Reddit post.The post recounted the harrowing experience of being sexually assaulted by Sujeesh while he had a tattoo needle pressed on her.Following this, many others came out with their own stories of being abused and groped by Sujeesh while he was tattooing them. This led to the registration of several FIRs against him.While most of the complaints would attract the offence under Section 354 (assaulting a woman with the intention of outraging her modesty) of the IPC, two of the FIRs were registered for offences under Section 376 (rape).This case renewed the conversation around women's safety in Kerala, especially in spaces like tattoo studios and parlours. Women took to social media with similar #MeToo experiences in other studios and makeup salons..Disclosure: The reporter's spouse was a lawyer for the accused in the case before the Sessions Court. One of the reporter's acquaintances is a complainant in the matter.