Bail Application No. 2163 of 2024 (Accused Nos. 4 to 6, 8 and 9) v. State of Kerala

Case Details & Bench

Court: High Court of Kerala
Hon'ble Judges: C. S. Dias
Judgment Date: 2024-04-03
Court Decision / Holding: The application is allowed; accused 5 and 8 are granted pre-arrest bail, subject to conditions including surrender within ten days, production before the investigating officer on surrender, furnishing bonds of Rs. 50,000 with two sureties, cooperation with investigation, not intimidating witnesses, surrender of passport if any, and abstaining from any other offense during bail; the court retained the power to cancel bail on violation.
Final Disposition: Application allowed; pre-arrest bail granted to accused 5 and 8 with conditions as stated above.

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

Athul
Sijal
Saleesh
Akshay K C
Amal Babu

Respondents

State of Kerala

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

• Vishnu Chandran
• Amala Purushothaman
• Apoorva Ramkumar

Counsels for Respondents

• Smt Seetha S.

Case Synopsis & Summary

This is a Kerala High Court bail application under Section 438 CrPC, filed on behalf of accused nos. 4 to 6, 8 and 9 in Crime No. 197/2024 of Panur Police Station, Kannur. The nine-accused case arises from allegations of unlawful assembly, assault, and property damage, including restraining the complainant and striking him with an iron rod and wooden stick, and damaging a vehicle belonging to a friend of the complainant to the tune of Rs. 4,000. The petition seeks pre-arrest bail. Counsel for the petitioners argued that for accused 5 and 8 the only overt act alleged is damage to the vehicle, a bailable offence, and that section 149 has rendered the offences non-bailable; custodial interrogation is unnecessary and no recovery is expected. The Public Prosecutor opposed bail but conceded that the specific overt act against accused 5 and 8 is limited to the Rs. 4,000 damage. On evaluation, the Court observed that the offence under Section 308 prima facie would not be attracted against accused 5 and 8, and thus pre-arrest bail should be granted subject to conditions. The order requires surrender within ten days, production before IO, bond of Rs.50,000 with two sureties, cooperation, non-interference with witnesses, passport surrender, and no new offences, with the option of cancellation for violation. The order cites Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi) as guiding precedent.

Provisions of Law Cited

Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973Sections 143, 147, 148, 341, 324, 308 and 427 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860

Submissions & Arguments

Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners

Counsel for petitioners submitted that accused 5 and 8 have a limited overt act—damage to the defacto complainant's friend's vehicle amounting to Rs. 4,000—which is a bailable offence. They contended that the section 308 accusation would not be attracted against these two accused, especially since custodial interrogation is unnecessary and no recovery is anticipated; the presence of Section 149 should not automatically negate bail rights where the alleged act is minor, and the bail should be granted with standard conditions.

Contentions of Respondents

Prosecutor opposed unconditional bail, noting the gravity of involvement in alleged unlawful assembly and assault, and reserved the right to seek dismissal, but conceded that the overt act against accused 5 and 8 is limited to Rs. 4,000 damage.

Cited Precedents (1)

Case Name	Citation	Treatment	Explanation
Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi) and another	2020 (1) KHC 663	Mentioned Only	Cited as a guiding precedent in bail considerations and the scope of judicial discretion under ongoing investigations.

Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

# **`IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM`** # **`PRESENT`** ``` THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.S.DIAS ``` ``` WEDNESDAY, THE 3[RD] DAY OF APRIL 2024 / 14TH CHAITHRA, 1946 BAIL APPL. NO. 2163 OF 2024 ``` ``` CRIME NO.197/2024 OF PANUR POLICE STATION, KANNUR ``` ``` PETITIONERS/ACCUSED NO.4 TO 6 8 AND 9: ``` - **`1 ATHUL AGED 31 YEARS S/O RAVEENDRAN, VAYAKARENDAVIDA, KOLAVALLUR, NOONJAMBRAM, KANNUR CITY, KANNUR DISTRICT, KERALA, PIN - 670693`** - **`2 SIJAL AGED 29 YEARS S/O CHANDRAN, THANKERSHIPURAYIL, KOLAVALLUR, NOONJAMBRAM, KANNUR CITY, KANNUR DISTRICT, KERALA, PIN - 670693`** - **`3 SALEESH AGED 29 YEARS S/O SUDHAKARAN, CHIRAKKARANDEMMAL, KOLAVALLUR, NOONJAMBRAM, KANNUR CITY, KANNUR DISTRICT, KERALA, PIN - 670693`** - **`4 AKSHAY K C AGED 25 YEARS`** ``` KARIYAVULLATHIL CHALI, KOLAVALLUR, NOONJAMBRAM, KANNUR CITY, KANNUR DISTRICT, KERALA, PIN - 670693 ``` - **`5 AMAL BABU AGED 29 YEARS`** - **`S/O SUDHEER BABU, KUNNOTHPARAMBA, KOLAVALLUR, NOONJAMBRAM, KANNUR CITY, KANNUR DISTRICT, KERALA, PIN - 670693 BY ADVS.`** ``` VISHNU CHANDRAN AMALA PURUSHOTHAMAN APOORVA RAMKUMAR ``` ## **`RESPONDENT/STATE:`** ``` STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, PIN - 682031 ``` ## B.A.No.2163 of 2024 -:2:- ## **`OTHER PRESENT:`** ## **`SR PP SMT SEETHA S`** ``` THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 03.04.2024, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: ``` B.A.No.2163 of 2024 ## -:3:- ## **O R D E R** Dated this the 3[rd] day of April, 2024 The application is filed under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, for an order of prearrest bail. 2. The petitioners are the accused 4 to 6, 8 and 9 in Crime No.197/2024 of the Panur Police Station, Kannur, registered against the accused ( 9 in number) for allegedly committing the offences punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 341, 324, 308 and 427 r/w Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code. 3. The essence of the prosecution case is that: on 08.03.2024, at around 22.15 hours, the accused, in prosecution of their intention, formed themselves into an unlawful assembly, and restrained the defacto complainant, and they hit him on his head using an iron rod and wooden stick, and they also caused loss to the vehicle of the defacto complainant's friend to the tune of B.A.No.2163 of 2024 ## -:4:- Rs.4,000/-. Thus, the accused have committed the above offences. 4. Heard; Sri.Vishnu Chandran, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners and Smt. Seetha.S., the learned Senior Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent. 5. The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that during the pendancy of the bail application, the accused 4, 6, and 9 have been arrested. Therefore, the bail application is confined to the accused 5 and 8 alone. He submitted that a reading of Annexure A1 FIR would substantiate that the offence under Section 308 will not be attracted against the accused 5 and 8. The only allegation against them is that they caused damage to the vehicle of the defacto complainant’s friend to the tune of Rs.4,000/-, which is a bailable offence. It is only because Section 149 has been incorporated, the offences have become non-bailable. ## B.A.No.2163 of 2024 ## -:5:- The petitioners’ custodial interrogation is not necessary, and no recovery is to be effected. Hence, the application may be allowed. 6. The learned Public Prosecutor opposed the application. Nonetheless, she conceded to the fact that the specific overt act alleged against the accused 5 and 8 is that they have caused damage to the vehicle of the defacto complainant’s friend to the tune of Rs.4,000/-. Hence, she prayed that the application may be dismissed. 7. On an anxious consideration of the facts, the materials placed on record, and the rival submission made across the Bar, especially taking into consideration the fact that the specific overt act alleged against the accused 5 and 8 is that they caused damage to the vehicle of the friend of the defacto complainant, I am of the view that the offence under Section 308 prima facie will not be attracted against the accused 5 and 8. ## B.A.No.2163 of 2024 ## -:6:- Therefore, the accused 5 and 8 are entitled to an order of pre-arrest bail, subject to the condition that they cooperate with the Investigating Officer. In the result, the application is allowed, subject to the following conditions: i) The accused 5 and 8 are directed to surrender before the Investigating Officer within ten days from today. ii) In the event of the accused 5 and 8’s arrest, the Investigating Officer shall produce them before the jurisdictional court on the date of surrender itself. iii) On such production, the jurisdictional court shall release the accused 5 and 8 on bail on them executing a bond for Rs.50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand only) each with two solvent sureties for the like amount each, to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional court; iv) The accused 5 and 8 shall co-operate with the investigation and make themselves available for interrogation and for the purpose of investigation as and when the Investigating Officer directs; ## B.A.No.2163 of 2024 ## -:7:- v). The accused 5 and 8 shall not intimidate witnesses or interfere with the investigation in any manner; vi). The accused 5 and 8 shall surrender their passports, if any, before the court below at the time of execution of the bond. If they have no passports, they shall file an affidavit to the effect before the court below on the date of execution of the bond; (vii) The accused 5 and 8 shall not get involved in any other offence while on bail. viii). In case of violation of any of the conditions mentioned above, the jurisdictional court shall be empowered to consider the application for cancellation of bail, if any filed, and pass orders on the same, in accordance with law. ix). Applications for deletion/modification of the bail conditions shall also be filed before the court below. x) Needless to mention, it would be well within the powers of the Investigating Officer to investigate the matter and, if necessary, to effect recoveries on the information, if B.A.No.2163 of 2024 ## -:8:- any, given by the accused 5 and 8 even while the petitioner **`s ar`** e on bail as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in **Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi) and another [2020 (1) KHC 663].** Sd/- **C.S.DIAS,JUDGE** mtk/03.04.24 B.A.No.2163 of 2024 ## -:9:- ## **`APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. 2163/2024`** ``` PETITIONER ANNEXURES ANNEXURE 1TRUE COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME NO.197/2024 OF PANOOR POLICE STATION, KANNUR DISTRICT DATED 09.03.2024 ANNEXURE 2TYPED COPY OF HAND WRITTEN FI STATEMENT OF THE DE FACTO COMPLAINANT ```