Abhay vs State Of Kerala

This application is filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, BNSS), seeking pre-arrest bail.

The applicant is the accused No.2 in Crime No.149/2026 of Ambalamedu Police Station, Ernakulam District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 126(2), 115(2), 296(b), 118(1) and 110 read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The prosecution case, in short, is that the accused had resentment towards the defacto complainant for calling his friend, Abhiram, to the vicinity of his house. Due to that enmity, the accused, with the intention of causing bodily harm to the defacto complainant, on 29.05.2026 at about 7:00 p.m. at the courtyard and premises of the house of Thankamma at Ellumalayil, wrongfully restrained and assaulted the defacto complainant's friend. When the defacto complainant attempted to intervene in the assault against his friend, the accused No.1 slapped him on his face. Thereafter, the accused No.1 and the applicant repeatedly slapped and punched him on the head and face, causing him pain and injuries. When he tried to run towards the road margin near the waiting shed situated at Peechingachira Junction in Ward No.3 of Vadavucode-Puthencruz Grama Panchayat and attempted to escape by boarding a scooter passing along the road, the accused chased him on a motorcycle bearing registration No.KL-39-W-8076 and the accused No.1 pushed him off the scooter and abused him. The applicant also abused him in filthy language, threatened to kill him, and assaulted him. Thereafter, the applicant struck on the head with a belt. The accused No.1 then picked up a beer bottle lying by the roadside and, knowing that such an act was likely to cause death, attempted to strike on the crown of his head. The defacto complainant blocked the blow with his left hand and sustained an injury in front of his left ear. The applicant struck him below his right knee with an iron rod, causing injury. He also pulled him down, causing him to fall to the ground, and he sustained an injury to his lip. The applicant thereby committed the aforesaid offences.

I have heard Smt.Ajithalakshmi Sabu, the learned counsel for the applicant and Sri.V.Vinay, the learned Senior 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 bail. The learned Senior Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, submitted that the alleged incident occurred as part of the applicant's intentional criminal acts, 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 under Section 482 of BNSS 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. Specific overt act has been attributed against the applicant. The defacto complainant has sustained serious injuries in the incident. Moreover, the applicant has criminal antecedents. He was absconding in another crime registered against him by the Puthencruze Police Station as Crime No.1465/2025. The present crime was committed while he was absconding in the above crime.

The investigation is in a preliminary stage. The custodial interrogation of the applicant is necessary for the investigation. As rightly argued by the learned Senior 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, I am of the view that this is not a fit case where the extraordinary jurisdiction vested with this Court under Section 482 of BNSS could be invoked.

The bail application is, accordingly, dismissed.