Kerala Court denies bail to tattoo artist Sujeesh PS in two rape cases

A Kerala court recently dismissed the bail applications moved by tattoo artist Sujeesh PS who is accused of having committed the offence of rape punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). .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 in the wee hours of March 6, 2022 and has been in judicial custody since then. .Additional Sessions Judge Shibu Thomas was seized of two cases where Sujeesh was accused of rape. The judge opined that though there are delays in filing the complaints in both cases, considering the fact that he is accused in several similar cases and the offenses alleged are grave, bail cannot be granted at this stage. "The report further shows that the investigation is in preliminary stage and the petitioners has (sic) similar several cases. One of the victim (sic) is a foreign woman.... Though there is a delay of (4 and 8 months) in filing the complaint, I am not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner at this stage considering the nature of offence and strong similar antecedents of petitioner and stage of investigation. Granting of bail to the petitioner at this stage may affect smooth progress of the investigation and possibility of the petitioner influencing the witnesses and interfering with the investigation cannot be ruled out", the order stated. The Court, therefore, dismissed both bail applications. .However, a Judicial First Class Magistrate allowed Sujeesh's application for bail in four cases where he was accused of sexual assault under Section 354 IPC. .The floodgates of the accusations against Sujeesh, the owner of 'Inkfected' tattoo studio, were opened with an anonymous reddit post. The poster recounted her 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) of the IPC.This case also renewed the conversation around women's safety in Kerala, especially in spaces like tattoo studios and parlours. Women have taken to social media with similar #MeToo experiences in other studios and makeup salons. .Disclosure: The author's spouse is a lawyer for the accused in the case. One of the author's acquaintances is a complainant in the matter..[Read Orders]