Samjith @ Jithu vs State Of Kerala

Ziyad Rahman A.A, J

The petitioner is the 1st accused in Crime No.2356/2020 of Malayinkeezhu Police Station. The aforesaid crime was registered for the offences punishable under Sections 294(b), 452, 323, 506(ii), 427, 354 and 308 read with Section 34 of IPC and under Section 27 of the Arms Act.

Earlier the petitioner was arrested in connection with the investigation on 27.11.2022, and he was released as per the order dated 15.02.2021 by the Sessions Court, Thiruvananthapuram in Crl.M.C. No.305/2021. The aforesaid bail was granted subject to certain conditions and one of the conditions was that the petitioner shall not involve in any other offence while on bail. However, after the release of the petitioner on bail, he got involved in two other cases namely, Crime No.2754/2021 of Malayinkeezhu Police Station for the offences punishable under Sections 143, 147, 294(b), 341, 323, 324 and 354 read with Section 149 of IPC and Crime No.544/2022 of Malayinkeezhu Police Station for committing the offences punishable under Sections 294(b), 323, 324, 308, 506 and 427 read with Section 34 of IPC. As one of the conditions on which the petitioner was released on bail in Crime No.2356/2020 was that he shall not involve in any other cases, the investigation officer submitted Crl.M.P. No.613/2022 before the Sessions Court for cancellation of bail under Section 439(2) of Cr.P.C. The said application was allowed as per the order dated 23.11.2022 and accordingly, the bail granted to the petitioner was cancelled, by taking note of the violation of the conditions of the bail. Based on the aforesaid order, the petitioner was arrested on 10.12.2022 and since then, he has been under judicial detention. This application for regular bail is submitted in such circumstances.

Heard Sri.Amjath A.R., the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri. M.P. Prasanth, the learned Public Prosecutor for the State.

The learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the petitioner was falsely implicated in the subsequent crimes, and therefore, the order of cancellation of bail was unwarranted. It is further pointed out that there is no purpose in keeping the petitioner under detention, as the investigation, in this case, is already over and the final report submitted. Moreover, in the subsequent cases, he was granted bail by the respective courts. The prayer for the release of the petitioner on bail is sought in such circumstances.

On the other hand, the learned Public Prosecutor would oppose the aforesaid contentions. It is pointed out that the petitioner is a habitual offender and as of now he is involved in eight other cases. Even though a condition was imposed while granting bail in this case to the effect that he shall not involve in other cases, in utter violation of the same, he committed two other offences. Therefore, it is pointed out that this is a case in which the petitioner is in the habit of misusing the freedom granted by the court and hence, the release of the petitioner, cannot be allowed. It is further pointed out by the learned Public Prosecutor that, the Malayinkeezh Police has already opened a history sheet against the petitioner on account of his repeated involvement in various crimes.

I have gone through the records and heard the contentions from both sides. The Sessions Judge indeed found that the petitioner had violated the conditions imposed by the court while granting bail. However, the fact remains that the aforesaid offence was committed in the year 2020, and the investigation in the said case is already over. As far as the subsequent offences are concerned, it is an admitted fact that in both cases the petitioner was granted bail. Now the petitioner is in custody since 10.12.2022 and more than three months have elapsed. In such circumstances, taking note of the period of detention that he had already undergone and also the fact that, he was granted bail, in all the other cases, despite his criminal antecedents, I do not find any necessity to continue his incarceration.

Accordingly, this 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 Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) with two solvent sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court.

ii) The petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer between 10.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m on every Wednesday until further orders.

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 the State of Kerala without the permission of the jurisdictional court.

vi) 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.