Bava U. vs State Of Kerala

Bechu Kurian Thomas, J

This is the fifth application filed by the petitioner for regular bail under section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The earlier four applications were dismissed, taking note of the nature of the crime committed and the alleged involvement of the petitioner. However, in the present application, petitioner brings to the notice of the court a change in circumstances, since two other accused, who were similarly placed, have already been granted bail by this Court.

Petitioner is the 10th accused in S.C. No.662/2022 on the files of the Additional Sessions Court-I, Palakkad, which arises out of Crime No.1989/2021 of Palakkad Town South Police Station. The offences alleged against the petitioner include Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The incident that led to the registration of the crime occurred on 15.11.2021 when accused 1 to 5 allegedly formed themselves into an unlawful assembly pursuant to a conspiracy and murdered Sri. Sanjith, an active worker of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). According to the prosecution, while the deceased was travelling on a motorbike along with his wife, the accused restrained him and hacked him to death, thus committing the offences alleged. Petitioner is alleged to be one of the main conspirators of the crime and he was arrested on 06.05.2022 and has been in custody since then.

I have heard Adv. Sunny Mathew, instructed by E.A.Haris, the learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri. C.K.Suresh, the learned Public Prosecutor.

Annexure-A5 order relating to B.A. No.10247/2023 and Annexue-A6 order relating to B.A.No.7225/2024 are in respect of accused Nos. 7 and 6 in the same crime. By a detailed order dated 17.10.2024, a learned Single Judge granted bail to accused No.6, who was arrested on 23.01.2022, while in Annexure -A5, bail was granted to the 7th accused, who was arrested on 06.05.2022. Annexue-A7 is an order in B.A.No.6787/2024 in respect of the 11th accused, who was arrested on 1.01.2023.

A perusal of the prosecution allegations reveal that accused 6, 10 and 11 all stand on almost the same footing, as they have been roped in as conspirators to the crime. Since accused 6 and 11 have already been granted bail, I am of the view that petitioner should also be treated alike, considering the nature of allegations. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that the petitioner has already been in custody from 06.05.2022, and the possibility of an immediate trial seems to be quite remote as well.

Considering the aforesaid circumstances and having regard to the orders of this Court in Annexue-A6 and Annexue-A7, I am of the view that petitioner ought to be released on bail on conditions.

Accordingly, this application is allowed on the following conditions:

a) The petitioner shall be released on bail on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) with two solvent sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court.

b) The petitioner shall appear before the trial court as and when required.

c) The petitioner shall not commit any offence of similar nature while on bail.

d) The petitioner shall not make any attempt to contact any of the prosecution witnesses, directly or through any other person, or any other way try to tamper with the evidence or influence any witnesses or other persons related to the investigation.

e) The petitioner shall not leave Kerala as well as India without the permission of the jurisdictional court.

f) The petitioner shall surrender his passport before the Jurisdictional court and, in case, he does not have a passport, an affidavit to that effect shall be filed.

In  case  of  violation  of  any  of  the  above  conditions,  the jurisdictional Court shall be empowered to consider the application for cancellation of bail, if any, and pass appropriate orders in accordance with the law.