[Dr Vandana Das Murder Case] Kerala High Court Dismisses Bail Application Moved By Accused Sandeep

Dr. Vandana Das, the 23-year-old house surgeon was stabbed to death by an injured man who was brought to the government hospital by Pooyappally police. The young house surgeon was stabbed sixteen times by Sandeep, a school teacher, using dressing room scissors

While dismissing the bail application, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas stated thus:

“Accused is known to have a history of alcohol abuse disorder and was separated from his wife and children as he had attempted to kill her in a fit of rage. He is stated to have an anti-social personality disorder too”

The court pointed out that the cause of death was attributed to the injuries inflicted on the victim.

“The postmortem report indicates the nature of injuries inflicted on the victim, out of 26 antemortem injuries, 16 were incise wounds. Death has been stated to have been caused due to these injuries which were on the back of the chest,” the Court stated.

The court went on to note that steps are being taken to appoint a special public prosecutor and also to have a speedy trial. As such the court stated that “undue delay in the trial will not occur”

Taking note of the circumstances, the court noted that “this is not a fit case where the accused can be released on bail”. Hence, the bail application was dismissed.

Today, the Court also rejected the writ petition moved by Dr Vandana's parents seeking the transfer of the probe to the CBI.

The plea has been moved through Advocates B.A. Aloor, K.P. Prasanth, Archana Suresh, Haritha Hariharan, and Ailin Elezabeth Mathew.

Case Title: Sandeep v. State of Kerala 

Case Number: Bail Appl. 10447/ 2023

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 93