IB officer suicide: Accused Sukanth Suresh moves Kerala High Court alleging leak of sensitive material to media

Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Sukanth Suresh, who is accused in the suicide of his girlfriend and colleague, has moved the Kerala High Court alleging that confidential and sensitive material related to the case is being leaked by the police to the media [Sukanth Suresh P v. State of Kerala & Ors.]..The 24-year-old woman IB officer, who was posted at the Immigration Department of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, was found dead near the railway tracks at Chakka on March 24. Suresh was booked for abetment of suicide and yesterday, the High Court dismissed his plea for anticipatory bail. Suresh subsequently moved the present application before the High Court alleging that sensitive case contents submitted during his bail hearing were leaked to the media by the police. He has sought an inquiry into the Pettah Police in this regard..In his application, Suresh has alleged that select portions of chat messages supposedly retrieved from his deleted social media account, which were submitted in a sealed bundle during the bail proceedings, were broadcast by Malayalam news channels on May 23, 2025.The next day, these messages also appeared in leading Malayalam dailies, including Mathrubhumi.According to Suresh, these materials were in the exclusive custody of the investigating agency and that no judicial order had been passed authorising their disclosure to any third party..Calling the disclosure an abuse of power, Suresh has claimed that the leak was a calculated move to stir public outrage, malign his character, and prejudice the Court against him."This act of leaking sensitive information to public domain without any authorisation from court constitutes a gross abuse of investigative powers and has been orchestrated with the intent to manufacture public outrage, prejudice judicial proceedings, and tarnish the reputation of the accused," as per the application. .This deliberate act by police officials violate Section 31(3) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011, which prohibits publication of investigation content without written permission from an authorised officer, he has contended.Suresh further invoked Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code (prohibiting identification of victims in certain offences) and Section 193 of the BNSS, which mandates that case materials be submitted only before the Magistrate.According to the petition, the publication of unverified and selectively leaked content created a parallel media trial and jeopardised his right to a fair hearing.He has sought orders from the High Court for a probe into the leaks as well as to prevent such leaks in the future. .Suresh is being represented by advocates CP Udayabhanu, Navaneeth N Nath, Rassal Janardhanan A, PR Ajay, Boban Palat, PU Pratheesh Kumar, KU Swapnil, Swetha Bijumon, Pranav Ushakar and RK Asha.