Rinku; Febin; Noufal; Suhail Shajahan; Shobin; Safeer; Anil Kumar; Binukumar; Krishnakanth; Sajin; Peerumuhammed; Bahul Krishna v. State of Kerala

## **IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM** ## **PRESENT** ## **THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS** **TUESDAY, THE 06TH DAY OF AUGUST 2019 / 15TH SRAVANA, 1941** ## **Bail Appl..No.5599 OF 2019** **AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT IN CMP 2747/2019 DATED 27-07-2019 OF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE OF FIRST CLASS -III,TRIVANDRUM** ## **CRIME NO.1539/2019 OF Cantonment Police Station , Thiruvananthapuram** ## **PETITIONER/S:** |**1**|**RINKU**| |---|---| ||**AGED 28 YEARS**| ||**S/O. SATHEESAN, UTHRADAM VEEDU, MANVILAMUKAL,**| ||**VELAVOOR WARD, KOLIYAKKODU VILLAGE.**| |**2**|**FEBIN,**| ||**AGED 32 YEARS**| ||**S/O. AHAMMED KABEER, KURUVILA VEEDU, PANAYATHU,**| ||**PANAYAM WARD, PULLAMPARA VILLAGE.**| |**3**|**NOUFAL,**| ||**AGED 26 YEARS**| ||**S/O. ABDUL MAJEED, SAIRA MANZIL, NEAR THIRIJOTHIPURAM**| ||**TEMPLE, ANDOORKKONAM, CHANTHAVILA WARD, KAZHAKKUTTOM**| ||**VILLAGE.**| |**4**|**SUHAIL SHAJAHAN,**| ||**AGED 21 YEARS**| ||**S/O. SHAJAHAN, SHAJI HOUSE, NEAR G TRACKS THEATRE,**| ||**2ND WARD, KADINAMKULAM VILLAGE.**| |**5**|**SHOBIN,**| ||**AGED 31 YEARS**| ||**S/O. THOMAS, CHAVANARU VEEDU, KUTTAPPARAMBIL, 15TH**| ||**WARD, UDAYAGIRI VILLAGE, THALIPPARAMBU TALUK, KANNUR**| ||**DISTRICT.**| |**6**|**SAFEER,**| ||**AGED 30 YEARS**| ||**S/O. ABDUL SALAM, VALIYAVILAKATHU VEEDU, NEAR OLD**| ||**CIRCLE OFFICE, VADAKKUMBHAGOM DESOM, VADAKKUMBHAGOM**| ||**WARD, KAZHAKKUTTOM VILLAGE.**| |**7**|**ANIL KUMAR,**| ||**AGED 35 YEARS**| Bail Appl..No.5599 OF 2019 2 **S/O. PRABHAKARAN NAIR, ASWATHY BHAVAN, NEMOM POLICE QUARTERS ROAD, KUTHIRAVATTOM LANE, EDAKKODE WARD, PALLICHAL VILLAGE.** - **8 BINUKUMAR, AGED 25 YEARS** **S/O. ASOKAN, AANDIVILAKATHU PUTHEN VEEDU, MOOZHIYIL, NEAR LAYOLA SCHOOL MUKUNDHARA DESOM, MANJADIMOODU WARD, KALLIKKADU VILLAGE** - **9 KRISHNAKANTH, AGED 22 YEARS** - **S/O. RADHAKRISHNAN, SARASAMMA VEEDU, TC 13/1949, KANNAMMOOLA, MEDICAL COLLEGE WARD, PATTOM VILLAGE.** - **10 SAJIN AGED 23 YEARS S/O. SADANANDAN, SONY BHAVAN, PUTHIRIYODU, VELLORKKONAM WARD, ARUVIKKARA VILLAGE.** - **11 PEERUMUHAMMED, AGED 33 YEARS S/O. HAJI P. HUSSAINKHAN, PARANDODU PUTHEN BUNGLAVE, KOTTAKKAKOM MURI, ARYANADU VILLAGE.** - **12 BAHUL KRISHNA, AGED 27 YEARS S/O. RADHAKRISHNAN, THIRUVONAM VEEDU, MADATHIKULANGARA, PLAMOODU WARD, AYIROOPPARA VILLAGE.** **BY ADVS. SRI.T.ASAFALI SRI.RASHEED C.NOORANAD** ## **RESPONDENT/S:** ## **STATE OF KERALA REP. BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM-682 031** ## **OTHER PRESENT:** ## **SRI.SAIGI JACOB PALATTY, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR** **THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 06.08.2019, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:** Bail Appl..No.5599 OF 2019 3 ## **ALEXANDER THOMAS, J.** ## **-----------------------------------------** ## **B.A. No. 5599 of 2019** ## **----------------------------------------Dated this the 6[th] day of August, 2019** ## **O R D E R** The petitioners herein have been arrayed as the accused Nos. 6 to 11 and 16 to 21 in Crime No. 1539/2019 of Cantonment Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram which has been registered for the offences punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 188, 283, 332, 353 and 307 r/w Section 149 IPC, Sec.3(2)(e) of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and Sec.39 r/w 121 of KP Act, 2011 on the basis of the FIS conveyed by the police officer concerned. The prosecution case in short is that on 22.07.2019 at about 12.00 noon under the leadership of accused Nos.1 to 5 and 6 to 11 and identifiable 500 activists of the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and Indian Youth Congress etc. had organized a march to the Government Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram to show the solidarity with the agitation against the allegation of malpractices in conducting certain examinations by Kerala Public Service Commission and also demanding investigation into those aspects by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Further, the prosecution would alleged that all the accused persons had formed themselves into unlawful assembly in front of the Government Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram along with accused Nos. 12 to 15, who were conducting hunger strike there, violating the orders of the police Bail Appl..No.5599 OF 2019 4 officials to disperse from the place of occurrence and they had threatened the police officials, pelted stones, soda bottles and sticks and due to the pelting of soda bottles, the Assistant Commissioner of Police sustained serious injury on his neck. The accused persons committed mischief to public property by destroying glasses of three police jeeps causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs.25,000/- to the Government. 2. It has been further pointed out that the petitioners 1 to 6 were arrested 22.07.2019 and accused Nos. 7 to 12 were arrested on 24.07.2019 and all the above said petitioners have been under judicial custody since then. The petitioners' application for bail has been rejected by Jurisdictional Magistrate Court concerned (JFMC-III, Thiruvananthapuram) as per Annexure-I dated 27.07.2019 at the time of remand. 3. Sri.T.Asaf Ali, learned counsel for the petitioners would urge that the petitioners are absolutely innocent and have been falsely implicated and that the petitioners had only conducted peaceful march in the Secretariat to protest against the alleged malpractices in the conduct of certain examinations by the Kerala Public Service Commission and that their agitation was extremely in a peaceful manner and had not committed any mischief to the public property and the petitioners have been wrongly identified or they have been deliberately implicated by the police only on account of the political animosity as they are the activists of student wing and youth organisation of the leading opposition party in the Bail Appl..No.5599 OF 2019 5 State. Further that the police had used water shells and fired grenades towards the march. It appears that some untoward incidents had happened there and due to the lathy charge, so many people were also sustained injuries. Further, that the allegation of the petitioners have pelted soda bottles towards the police officers and that they had destroyed the glasses of the police jeeps etc. are absolutely false and they had not committed any act of violence as against any of the police officers concerned. 4. The learned counsel for the petitioners would submit at any rate, the further detention of the petitioners is not necessary and that they may be order to release on regular bail subject to any stringent conditions which this Court may insists to protect the integrity of the investigation process and outcome of the trial process and that the petitioners will faithfully comply with any such conditions imposed by this Court in the interest of justice. 5. Sri. Saigi Jacob Palatty, the learned Prosecutor has seriously opposed the grant of regular bail and submitted that the agitation was to say the least not at all peaceful and it turned out to be extremely violent and the information gathered by the investigation so far is that the accused persons had pelted stones, soda bottles and sticks and due to the pelting of soda bottles, one of the Assistant Commissioner of Police who was in the scene of occurrence regulating the police affairs had sustained severe injury on his neck etc. Bail Appl..No.5599 OF 2019 6 6. After hearing both sides, it appears that the agitation was mainly a political one done at the behest of the student wing and the youth organization affiliated to the leading opposition party in the State. The events of this nature occur whenever the political party concerned and its activists are on the wrong side of the power. This Court should not be understood to mean that acts of this nature should be condoned. The matters of this nature should be strictly investigated and the guilty should be punished and should be booked strictly in accordance with due process of law and there cannot be any quarrel about that proposition on any count. But it has also to be borne in mind that one of the vibrant features of our democracy is such public protest that may be organized by the political parties concerned and such public protest on many occasions could not only be for _bona fide_ purposes but also for the partisan agenda of the political party concerned. That is an aspect which is an unavoidable consequences in the working of our vibrant democracy. 7. Therefore, this Court is inclined to order the grant of regular bail subject to stringent conditions. This Court had queried to Sri.T.Asaf Ali, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners as to whether they would abide with the condition proposed by this Court that none of them shall go anywhere near the scene of occurrence of the present crime, which is the protest venue near the Government Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram until the conclusion of the investigation process. This Court proposed to both sides that following stringent conditions would be imposed while grant of Bail Appl..No.5599 OF 2019 7 bail. Firstly that none of the petitioners should go anywhere near the scene of occurrence which is the protest venue in the Government Secretariat until the conclusion of the investigation process in this case. Secondly, in case any of the petitioners involved in any crimes of similar nature, then the Jurisdictional Magistrate court concerned will stand authorized to straight away take up the plea for cancellation of the bail and order its cancellation after getting report from the investigating officer concerned and after hearing both sides. 8. Sri. T.Asaf Ali, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would submit that the petitioners are fully agreeable to any such conditions that been imposed by this Court and that certainly they will comply with such conditions faithfully. Thirdly, the petitioners will have to fully cooperate with the investigation process. 9. The learned Prosecutor submitted that the value of the loss caused to the public property in the instant case is around Rs.25,000/and that the petitioners may be directed to deposit the said amount before the Jurisdictional Magistrate court concerned. 10. After hearing both sides and after taking into account various aspects mentioned hereinabove, this Court is inclined to take the view that further detention of the petitioners may not be necessary. Accordingly, it is ordered that the petitioners shall be released on each of them separately executing bond for Rs.40,000/- each and on each of them furnishing two solvent sureties for the like sum both to the satisfaction of the Bail Appl..No.5599 OF 2019 8 ## Jurisdictional Magistrate court concerned. - i. _The petitioners will fully co-operate with the investigation process and appear before the investigating officer as and when directed by him._ - ii. _The petitioners shall personally appear before the Investigating Officer on every 2[nd] and 4[th] Saturdays, at any time between 10 am and 1 pm, for a further period of 3 months or till final report is filed, whichever is earlier._ - _iii. The petitioners shall not intimidate or attempt to influence the witnesses; nor shall they tamper with the evidence._ - _iv. The petitioners shall not commit any crime more particularly, crimes of similar nature, while on bail._ - v. _If the petitioners get themselves involved in any crimes in violation of the above said condition, the Jurisdictional Magistrate Court concerned will stand hereby authorize to cancel the bail of the petitioners after getting a report from the investigating officer and after hearing both sides._ - _vi. The petitioners shall not go anywhere near the scene of occurrence of the crime which is the protest venue near the Government Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram until the conclusion of the investigation process except for the limited purpose of reporting before the Investigating Officer concerned in this crime, or for attending to the Court in relation to this case or any other cases or for contacting their lawyer/advocate concerned. However, if any of the petitioners have any emergent need to visit the said area, they may do so only with the prior permission of the investigating officer concerned._ - vii. _The petitioners will deposit Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only) before the Jurisdictional Magistrate Court concerned in relation to the said crime within 10 days from the date of their release._ 11. If there is any violation of the abovesaid conditions by the petitioners then the jurisdictional court concerned shall stand hereby empowered to consider the plea for cancellation of bail if required, and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law. With these observations and directions, the above Bail Application will stand disposed of. Sd/- **ALEXANDER THOMAS, JUDGE** SKS