Ratheesh Chandran vs State Of Kerala

Ziyad Rahman A.A., J

This bail application is filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking regular bail.

The petitioner is the sole accused in crime No.723/2023 of Thrissur Town West Police Station, which was registered for the offences punishable under Sections 376(1) and 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code.

The prosecution case is that, during the period from January, 2020 to 13.04.2023, on various days, the petitioner had sexual intercourse with the defacto complainant, by making false promise of marriage. The crime was registered in such circumstances on the basis of the information furnished by the defacto complainant on 23.06.2023. The petitioner was arrested on 24.06.2023 and since then he has been under judicial detention. This application for regular bail is submitted in such circumstances.

Heard Sri. A. Ranjith Narayanan, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Smt. Sreeja V., the learned Senior Public Prosecutor for the State.

One of the crucial contentions raised by the learned Public Prosecutor is that, the sexual intercourse between the parties were on the basis of a false promise of marriage as the petitioner suppressed the fact that he is already married. It is also alleged that, the petitioner allegedly took photographs and videos of the victim and threatened her that he would send the same to the family members of the defacto complainant and thereby persuaded to have sexual intercourse on several occasions.

However, it is a fact that, the petitioner has been under judicial custody since 24.06.2023 and the final report is already submitted in this case. No criminal antecedents of the petitioner were also brought to my notice. The specific case put forward by the learned counsel for the petitioner is that, the sexual intercourse between the parties were on the basis of mutual consent, as they were already in a relationship. From the statements of the victim, the relationship between the parties is to some extent evident. However, the question that arises is whether the consent of the victim was obtained on the basis of a false promise of marriage. The said aspect is to be established during the course of trial. Now the investigation is already completed and the final report submitted. In such circumstances, considering the period of detention already undergone by the petitioner and the other relevant aspects, I do not find any necessity of further incarceration of the petitioner.  The petitioner can be released on bail with appropriate conditions to ensure that the petitioner is not influencing or intimidating the victim.

Accordingly, this bail application is allowed and the petitioner is directed to be released on bail subject to the following conditions:-

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

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

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

(iv) The petitioner shall not make any 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.

(v) The petitioner shall not leave India without the permission of the trial Court.

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 law.