Suresh K.M 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 in Crime No.203/2023 of Hosdurg Police Station, Kasargod. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 354 and 511 of 376C of the IPC.

The prosecution case, in short, is that on 13/02/2023 at about 6.30 p.m., at the ACR lab, the applicant sexually assaulted the victim by catching her breast and also attempting to insert his finger in her vagina and thereby committed the offence.

I have heard Sri.I.V.Pramod, the learned counsel for the applicant and Sri.P.M.Prasanth, 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 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.

The law regarding the grant or refusal of pre-arrest bail is well settled. Pre-arrest bail cannot be granted as a matter of course. The power u/s 438 of Cr.P.C could be exercised only when a special case is made out, that too, recording reasons thereof. Perusal of the case diary reveals that the accusation made against the applicant is very serious in nature and it prima facie shows a premeditated criminal act on his part.

The applicant is an employee at a medical lab. The victim went there to give her blood for conducting blood test. In the FIS, the victim stated that when she went to give blood, there were other female staffs and another male staff at the lab. After giving blood, the applicant asked the victim to come after 6'0 clock to collect the result. She stated that when she went to the lab at 6.30 p.m. to collect the result, the applicant alone was at the lab. Then he called her inside the lab, where she was sexually assaulted. The victim has in detail narrated the sexual assault meted out by her at the hands of the applicant. The allegations are serious in nature.

The investigation is in a preliminary stage. The custodial interrogation of the applicant is necessary for the investigation. As rightly argued by the learned Public Prosecutor, the possibility of the applicant influencing the witnesses and interfering with the investigation cannot be ruled out if he is released on bail. Considering the gravity of the offence and stage of the investigation, it is not a fit case where extra ordinary jurisdiction vested with this Court u/s 438 of Cr.P.C. could be invoked. The bail application is, accordingly, dismissed.