Arun Rajan.O.R vs State Of Kerala

P.V.Kunhikrishnan, J

This bail application is filed under Section 438 of Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.)

The petitioner is the accused in Crime No.1660/2023 of Kunnamkulam Police Station, Thrissur. The above case is registered against the petitioner and others alleging offences punishable under Sections 143, 147, 341, 323, 324, 308 r/w Section 149 IPC.

The prosecution case is that the accused 1 to 7 who can be identified by sight, assembled and formed themselves into unlawful assembly and entered into the house of the defacto complainant with deadly weapons and asked the video footage of the attack committed by them to the friend of the complainant and when the complainant told them that he did not have video footage with him, the 1st accused pulled him down to the chair and attacked him and the 2nd accused inflicted injury on complainant's hand muscles, wrists, neck etc. According to the prosecution, if the wound marks inflicted by the 2nd accused were deep, it would have cut the veins of the complainant and thereby resulted in his death. Hence, it is alleged that the accused committed the offence.

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that there is no specific overt act attributed to the petitioner and he is not even identified by the defacto complainant. It is also submitted that the injuries sustained to the defacto complainant is admittedly minor in nature. The counsel for the petitioner also submitted that the petitioner is ready to abide any conditions if this Court grant him bail. The Public Prosecutor opposes the bail application.

After hearing both sides, I think the petitioner can be released on bail. No serious injury is sustained to the victim. The non bailable offence alleged is under Section 308 IPC. Whether Section 308 IPC is made out, it is a matter to be decided at the stage of investigation and trial. I think bail can be granted to the petitioner directing him to appear before the investigating officer on all Mondays at 10.00 am.

Moreover, it is a well accepted principle that, the bail is the rule and the jail is the exception. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Chidambaram P. v. Directorate of Enforcement (2019 (16) SCALE 870), after considering all the earlier judgments, observed that, the basic jurisprudence relating to bail remains the same inasmuch as the grant of bail is the rule and refusal is the exception so as to ensure that, the accused has the opportunity of securing fair trial.

Considering the dictum laid down in the above decision and considering the facts and circumstances of these case, the bail application is allowed with the following directions: :-

i) Petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer within ten days from today and shall undergo interrogation;

ii) After interrogation, if the Investigating Officer proposes to arrest the petitioner, she shall be released on bail on executing a bond for a sum of Rs.50,000/-(Rupees Fifty Thousand only) with two solvent sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the officer concerned;

iii) Petitioner  shall  appear  before  the  Investigating Officer for interrogation as and when required. The petitioner shall co-operate with the investigation and shall not, directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade her from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer;

iv) Petitioner shall not leave India without permission of the jurisdictional Court;

v) Petitioner shall not commit an offence similar to the offence of which he is accused, or suspected, of the commission of which they are suspected;

vi) Petitioner shall appear before the investigating officer on all Mondays at 10.00 am till final report is filed.

vii) Needless to mention, it would be well within the powers of the Investigating Officer to investigate the matter and, if necessary, to effect recoveries on the information, if any given by the petitioner even while the petitioner is on bail as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sushila Aggarwal v.State (NCT of Delhi) and another (2020 (1) KHC 663).

viii) If any of the above conditions are violated by the petitioner, the jurisdictional Court can cancel the bail in accordance to law, even though the bail is granted by this Court.