Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday granted bail to Dr EA Ruwise, the first accused in the Dr Shahana suicide case.
Taking note that Ruwise has been in custody since December 7, 2023, Justice Gopinath P was of the considered opinion that the continued detention of the petitioner was not necessary for the purposes of investigation, and that he could be granted bail. The court had earlier granted anticipatory bail to the petitioner's father who was also the second accused in the case.
In the bail application moved through Advocate Nireesh Mathew, Ruwiseaverred that there was no material in the present case to connect him with the present offence. He submitted that only a proposal of marriage had taken place between the parties.
The petitioner stated that his father had said that the marriage could be conducted only after completion of education, which was not acceptable to the victim, and that the latter was instigating the petitioner to marry her which he denied due to his father's advice. He added that no agreement or consent with regard to dowry had taken place between the parties. He said that he had no intention to hurt the victim's feelings, but on the contrary, had expressed his bona fide desire to marry her.
During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner also attempted to impress upon the court that his career and future would be spoilt if he was not granted bail. He thus sought grant of bail for the purposes of continuing his study alone, even with stringent conditions imposed such as him not leaving the College and hostel premises.
Significantly, the petitioner's counsel also told the court that Dr Shahana ought to have been more careful and not resorted to extreme measures such as suicide.
The prosecution on the other hand, opposed the grant of bail. It was added that the decision as to whether the petitioner could be reinstated in service would have to be considered by the Disciplinary Committee in consultation with the Department of Health, Government of Kerala, and the Kerala University of Health Sciences.
The court while granting bail to Ruvais' subject to certain conditions, thus clarified that the grant of bail ought not to be seen as the entitlement of the petitioner to claim reinstatement, and that the same ought to be decided only in accordance with the applicable regulations.
Dr Shahana, who was a postgraduate surgery student at the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, died by suicide, allegedly due to Ruwise backing out of marriage since the dowry demands were not met.
It is alleged that Ruwise's family had demanded 150 sovereigns of gold, 15 acres of land and a BMW car from Shahana's family, which the latter could not meet. When the incident came to light, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) suspended Ruwise's medical license for abetting Dr Shahana's suicide.
Ruwise has been charged with the offences under Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide) and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act (penalty for demanding dowry).
(With LiveLaw inputs.)
