Sreeraj A vs State Of Kerala

This is an application filed u/s 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure seeking regular bail.

The petitioner is accused in Crime No.85 of 2021 of Hosdurg Excise Range. The offence alleged is under section 58 of the Kerala Abkari Act.

The allegation against the petitioner is that, on 05.05.2021 at 4.30 pm, he was found in possession of 24.30 Liters of Indian Made Foreign Liquor

intended for sale in Karnataka and thereby committed the offences.

The petitioner was arrested on 05.05.2021 and he is in judicial custody since then.

Heard both sides and perused the case diary.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is innocent and he was falsely implicated in the present case. It is contended by

him that, the materials available are not sufficient to establish the offence alleged against him. It is contended that, the bottles found were containing

the label of Kerala State Beverages Corporation and the same were never intended for sale.

On the other hand, the learned Public Prosecutor strongly opposed the bail application. According to him, the accused committed the offences

alleged against him and in case the petitioner is released on bail, he is likely to influence the witnesses and thereby interfere with the ongoing

investigation.

After perusing the records, it can be seen that there are serious allegation against the petitioner. However, taking into accout of the alarming

situation prevailing in the State owing to wide spread of COVID-19 Pandemic, the Government is taking measures to de-congest the prisons so as to

enable the authorities concerned to maintain social distancing within the prisons. As part of the said initiative, they have issued

G.O(Rt)No.1311/2021/HOME dated 05/05/2021, directing the authorities concerned to grant parole to eligible inmates of the Prisons in the State,

subject to the compliance of Rule 397(L) of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Rules 2014. The Honourable Supreme Court

also, vide order dated 7.05.2021 in Suo Motu Writ Petition (C) No 1/2020 issued various directions for minimizing the strength of inmates in prisons. In

my view, the above aspects are also very much relevant while considering this bail application. While arriving at the said decision, this court is

conscious of the conditions stipulated in section 41A of the Abkari Act, in the matter of granting bail. However, the extra ordinary circumstances

prevailing in the State on account of COVID-19 pandemic and the measures that are being taken by all the machineries of the State for fighting the

pandemic, compel this court to take a lenient view in the matter, as an extra ordinary measure.

In the above circumstances, this application is allowed subject to some conditions.

In the result, the application is allowed on 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 for the like sum

each to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Magistrate/Court.

(ii) The petitioner shall fully co-operate with the investigation.

(iii) The petitioner shall appear before the investigating officer between 10.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m on every Wednesday until the filing of final report.

However, it is made clear that, this requirement shall stand suspended during the period of lock down declared by the Government or any other

competent authorities in this regard.

(iv) The petitioner shall also appear before the investigating officer as and when required by him.

(v) The petitioner shall not commit any offence of like nature while on bail.

(vi) 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.

(vii) The petitioner shall not leave State of Kerala without the permission of the trial Court.