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Judgment
This application is filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking regular bail.
The applicant is the sole accused in Crime No.494/2026 of Pothencode Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 4 r/w 3, 12 r/w 11(ii) and 11(iv) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and Sections 64(l), 74 and 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The prosecution case, in short, is as follows: The victim is a minor girl aged 16 years studying in Plus one. She is presently residing at Entry Home, Poojappura. The applicant and the victim got acquainted through Instagram, and thereafter they frequently communicated with each other through phone calls and messages. On 20.04.2026, the applicant took the victim on a motorcycle to his house at Peruthala Colony. At that time, nobody else was present in the house. The applicant took the victim to a room, forcibly removed her clothes, took photographs of her in a naked state, and thereafter had sexual intercourse with her. Subsequently, the applicant withdrew from the relationship with the victim and thereby committed the offences.
I have heard Sri.Shajin S. Hameed, the learned counsel for the applicant and Sri.Thomas Sabu Vadakekut, 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 bail. On the other hand, the learned Public Prosecutor submitted that the alleged incident occurred as a part of the intentional criminal acts of the applicant, and he is not entitled to bail at this stage.
The applicant was remanded to judicial custody on 11.08.2026. The applicant is aged 19 years and the victim is aged 16 years. A reading of the FI Statement would show that they met through Instagram and had consensual sexual intercourse. The applicant has no criminal antecedents. The investigation is almost over. For these reasons, I do not find any reason to hold that the continued detention of the applicant is required for any purpose. Hence, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail.
In the result, the application is allowed on the following conditions: -
The applicant 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.
The applicant shall fully co-operate with the investigation.
The applicant shall appear before the investigating officer between 10.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m. every Saturday until further orders. He shall also appear before the investigating officer as and when required.
The applicant shall not commit any offence of a like nature while on bail.
The applicant shall not attempt to contact any of the prosecution witnesses, directly or through any other person, or in any other way try to tamper with the evidence or influence any witnesses or other persons related to the investigation.
The applicant shall not leave the State of Kerala without the permission of the trial Court.
The application, if any, for deletion/modification of the bail conditions or cancellation of bail on the grounds of violating the bail conditions shall be filed at the jurisdictional court.