Sureshkumar v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
B.A. 1195/2023
Before Justice Kauser Edappagath
Decided on March 29, 2023

Relevancy of the Case: Bail application in a case involving allegations of rape and sexual harassment

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66E, 67)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 354, 354A, 354B, 376)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The victim and the other accused are the applicant’s employees. The applicant, aided by the co-accused, committed rape on the victim as his office premised.
• The co-accused recorded the video of the sexual act and circulated it to others.
• The applicant claimed that he engaged in consensual sexual activity with the victim. However, the complainant says that it was against her consent.
• The applicant further claims that the complainant and the co-accused blackmailed him, asking for money and threatening to share the recorded video if he did not pay.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The applicant’s counsel submitted that he had no criminal antecedents. He has been wrongly accused in this case. Moreover, there is no evidence linking the applicant to the alleged crime. Therefore, the court should grant bail to the applicant.
• The respondent’s counsel contended that the alleged incident was a deliberate criminal act committed by the applicant. Granting bail at this point could interfere with the investigation.

Opinion of the Bench

• There is no need for custodial interrogation. Hence, the court can grant bail.

Final Decision

• The court accepted the bail application with conditions.

Aditi Sharma, an undergraduate student at NMIMS School of Law, Indore, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2023.