P.Velayudhan Nair 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.1 in Crime No.VC02/2023/SIU-II, Thiruvananthapuram. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 7(b) and 8 (1)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 120-B r/w Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

The prosecution case, in short, is as follows:- The applicant and the accused No.2 are public servants. The applicant was the investigating officer in VC/6/2015/SCT, which was a crime registered against the accused No.2. The applicant after a detailed investigation, filed a refer report on 12.02.2021 as mistake of fact. The report was accepted by the court and the case was closed. The prosecution alleges that the applicant conspired with the accused No.2 and with their common intention and ulterior motive referred the above case with the malafide intention to save the accused No.2 from the clutches of law. It is further alleged that the accused No.2 deposited an amount of Rs.50,000/- on 30.09.2021 in the Savings Bank account maintained in the name of the son of the applicant at Federal Bank, Kazhakkoottam Branch, which according to the prosecution is the gratification money paid by the accused No.2 for referring the case against him.

I have heard Sri.B.Raman Pillai, the learned Senior Counsel, as instructed by Sri.R.Anil, the learned counsel for the applicant and Smt.S.Rekha, the learned 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 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.

The accused No.2 was granted pre-arrest bail by this Court as per the order dated 05/06/2023. This Court as per order dated 12/04/2023 granted an interim order that the applicant shall not be arrested. The learned Public Prosecutor submitted that the investigation is almost complete. The learned Public Prosecutor also submitted that, considering the nature of allegation levelled against the applicant, custodial interrogation of the applicant is not necessary. However, the learned Public Prosecutor submits that the applicant has to appear before the investigating officer as and when directed and co-operate with the investigation. After hearing both sides, I am of the view that pre-arrest bail can be granted to the applicant also.

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.