Nahas vs State Of Kerala

Ziyad Rahman A.A., J

This is an application seeking Regular Bail.

The petitioner is the sole accused in Crime No. 1074/2022 of Harbour Police Station, Ernakulam, which was registered for the offences punishable under Sections 341, 354, 354 A (1) and 354 D of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The allegations against the petitioner are that, on 22.12.2022, at about 9.00 a.m, while the victim was travelling as a pillion rider on a scooter ridden by her friend, the petitioner intercepted her and pulled her down from the moving scooter. The defacto complainant submitted the complaint in such circumstances, and the FIR was registered based on the same. The petitioner was arrested in connection with the said crime on 22.12.2022, and since then, he is under judicial custody.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent of all the allegations and that he was falsely implicated in the said case.

On the other hand, the learned Public Prosecutor would oppose the aforesaid contentions. It is pointed out that, on an earlier occasion, the defacto complainant submitted a complaint against the petitioner for harassing her, and the present incident was a reaction to the submission of the said complainant. The learned Public Prosecutor further submits that there are specific allegations against the petitioner about the commission of the offences, and therefore, the bail cannot be granted to him.

In response to the aforesaid averments, the learned counsel for the petitioner submits that, there is no fruitful purpose in continuing the detention of the petitioner, because the investigation, in this case, is already completed, and final report has been submitted. According to him, now the matter is pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I, Kochi, as C.P No. 1/2023. Therefore, he seeks a lenient view in the matter.

After considering all the relevant aspects, I am of the view that the petitioner can be released on bail. This is mainly because, the petitioner has been in custody since 22.12.2022, and as reported by the learned counsel for the petitioner, the investigation is already over. Therefore, further detention of the petitioner appears to be not necessary. Hence, the release of the petitioner can be ordered by imposing appropriate conditions to ensure that the petitioner does not contact the victim while on bail.

In such circumstances, this bail application is allowed, and he is directed to be released on bail subject to the following conditions.

The petitioner 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 Court.

The petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer between 10.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m. every Wednesday for a period of two months.

The petitioner shall also appear before the Investigating Officer as and when required.

The petitioner shall not commit any offence of similar nature while on bail.

The petitioner shall not make any attempt to contact any of the prosecution witnesses, directly or through any other person or any other way try to tamper with the evidence or influence any witnesses or other persons related to the investigation.

The petitioner shall not leave the State of Kerala without the permission of the trial Court.

In case of violation of any of the above conditions, the jurisdictional Magistrate/Court shall be empowered to consider the application for cancellation of bail, if any, and pass appropriate orders in accordance with the law.