Kiran Kumar, the main suspect in the Vismaya case of suspected dowry harassment and domestic abuse, was denied bail by the Kerala high court on Friday, October 8.
The bail plea of S Kiran Kumar, the husband of Vismaya V Nair, who died due to suspected dowry harassment, was denied by the Kerala High Court on October 8. On June 21, Vismaya, an Ayurveda medical student from Nilakkal in the Kollam district, was discovered dead at the home of Kiran Kumar in Sasthamnada.
Kiran was arrested on June 22 in connection with the death and has been in custody since then. On the same night as Vismaya’s death, Kiran Kumar surrendered to the police.
They were charging Kumar under Sections 498A (subjecting a woman to cruelty for dowry) and 304B (dowry death), among other sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Kumar’s bail plea:
The defendant fought in court that he had been in detention for more than 105 days and that he should not be remanded in custody because they had already filed the charge sheet.
In court, the defendant also claimed that the deceased was hooked to social media, specifically Tik-Tok. Vismaya’s Facebook account was erased, according to Kiran, for her to focus on her studies.
The bail plea also claimed that a “small” family feud was being exaggerated and that the inquest report only mentions a minor scrape on the woman’s wrist. On the other hand, the prosecution informed the court that there was proof that Kiran tortured Vismaya repeatedly and that no bail should be allowed.
While rejecting Kumar’s bail petition, a single-judge panel led by Justice M.R. Anitha stated charging the petitioner with the “severe crime of dowry death, which is a social evil”.
She emphasized that a fair trial is in the public interest and that it would trump the accused’s interests while balancing the accused’s liberty with the public interest.
Vismaya death case:
Vismaya had sent images of bruises and cuts on her body to her relatives over WhatsApp only a few days before her death, saying that her husband was tormenting her for dowry.
Her family published screenshots of her WhatsApp chats and voice notes after she was discovered dead. She allegedly sustained the injuries due to Kumar and his family’s physical assault in response to their discontent with the “gifts” presented to them for their wedding.
While the initial reports suggested suicide, it was later determined to be a possible homicide. Nair’s family had filed a dowry death and matrimonial cruelty case against Kumar with the Sooranad police department following her death.
According to the 500-page charge sheet, Vismaya committed suicide as a result of dowry harassment. There were approximately 102 witnesses and 56 pieces of evidence in this case, including digital proofs of Kumar tormenting Vismaya in the evidence.
The Sasthamcotta Judicial First Class Magistrate in Kollam, Kerala, has previously denied Kumar bail.
Curbing the dowry menace:
The loss of the 24-year-old Ayurveda Medical student in Kerala has stirred outrage and reignited debate about the incidence of dowry-related harassment, abuse, and death in the state.
All political leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, have harshly criticised the incident, with Vijayan issuing a statement calling for measures to end the dowry system in society.
The government also ordered all Heads of Departments of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), autonomous bodies, cultural and other government institutions to obtain an anti-dowry declaration from the male government servants.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had visited Vismaya’s home. The governor held a full-day fast and implemented a law requiring all graduating students in Kerala to sign an anti-dowry affidavit.
