Keshav Ranju vs State Of Kerala

K.Babu, J

The petitioner who is accused No.4 in O.R.No.2/2023 of the Narcotic Control Bureau seeks modification of the conditions imposed by the Sessions Court, Ernakulam, while granting interim bail for permitting him to participate in the Shraddham ceremony of his maternal grandmother.

The Sessions Court granted interim bail to him on the following conditions:-

The petitioner shall execute bail bond for Rs.50,000/- with two solvent sureties for the likesum each.

Petitioner/A4 is permitted to visit his house from 26.06.2023 to 28.06.2023 to perform the religious rituals delineated supra, including immersing the ashes in the sea at Rameswaram.

The petitioner is permitted to interact with his close relatives who may be present in the said house during his visit. No other persons are permitted to interact with the petitioner.

The petitioner shall not contact any of the witnesses in the case or in anyway influence or intimidate them.

This order will be intimated to the investigating officer, NCB Kochi zone who shall make arrangement for a police escort to be with the petitioner from the time he is released to the time the bail period ends and the petitioner surrenders before the jail authorities.

It will be the duty of the escort to ensure that the petitioner is safely returned to the jail authorities.

The expenses of the police escort shall be met by the petitioner and/or his sureties as per rules.

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Special Public Prosecutor.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the presence of the Police Escort as directed in condition No.5 would defeat the very purpose of the bail granted to the petitioner. It is submitted that the presence of the Police escort at Shraddham ceremony would damage the reputation of the family of the petitioner.

The learned Public Prosecutor opposed the prayer for modification of the conditions.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner will remain at his house at Tripunithura from 26.06.2023 to 28.06.2023 as he has no plan to go to Rameswaram.

Having considered the entire circumstances, condition Nos.1,2,5,6 & 7 in the impugned order are modified as follows:-

i. The petitioner is permitted to visit his house and remain there from 26.06.2023 to 28.06.2023.

ii. The petitioner shall execute bond for Rs.5,00,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs Only) with two solvent sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court. One of the sureties shall be a close relative of the petitioner.

iii. The petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer on everyday between 3.00 pm and 4.00 pm. The petitioner shall not leave his residence except for the purpose of appearing before the Investigating Officer.

iv. The petitioner shall surrender before the jail authorities at 10.00 am on 29.06.2023.

The Crl.M.C. is ordered accordingly.