Bipin Punnose Alias Oommachan vs State Of Kerala

Dr Kauser Edappagath, J

This application is filed u/s 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking pre-arrest bail.

The applicant is the accused No.2 in Crime No.327/2023 of Thiruvalla Police Station. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 141, 142, 143, 294(b), 452, 354, 324, 323, 427 r/w 149 of IPC.

The prosecution case, in short, is that on 06.03.2023 at 08.30 p.m., the applicant along with the remaining accused formed themselves into an unlawful assembly and in prosecution of the common object of the assembly, trespassed into the house of the de facto complainant, assaulted her with an intention to outrage her modesty and thereby committed the above said offences.

I have heard Sri.M.R.Sasith, the learned counsel for the applicant and Sri.C.S.Hrithwik, the learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.

The learned counsel for the applicant submitted that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. The counsel further submitted that no materials are on record to connect the applicant with the alleged crime; hence, he is entitled to get bail. The learned Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, submitted that the alleged incident occurred as a part of the intentional criminal acts of the applicant, and if he is released on bail at this stage, it will affect the course of the investigation.

I went through the FIS. The main allegations are against the accused No.1. The non bailable offences involved are under Sections 354 and 452 of IPC. But there are no allegations in the FIS to attract the said offences against the applicant. The only allegation against the applicant is that he caused mischief to the vehicle kept in the front side of the house. The applicant has no criminal antecedents. Considering the allegations levelled against the applicant, his custodial interrogation does not appear to be necessary. For these reasons, it is a fit case where pre-arrest bail can be granted to the applicant.

In the result, the application is allowed on the following conditions:-

(i) The applicant shall be released on bail in the event of his arrest on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One lakh only) with two solvent sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the arresting officer/investigating officer, as the case may be.

(ii) The applicant shall fully cooperate with the investigation, including subjecting himself to the deemed police custody for discovery, if any, as and when demanded.

(iii) The applicant shall appear before the investigating officer between 10.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. every Saturday until further orders. He shall also appear before the investigating officer as and when required.

(iv) The applicant shall not commit any offence of a like nature while on bail.

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

(vi) The applicant shall not leave the State of Kerala without the permission of the trial Court.

(vii) The application, if any, for deletion/modification of bail conditions or cancellation of bail on the grounds of violating the bail conditions shall be filed at the jurisdictional court.