Vetri @ Vetrivel vs State

T.V.Thamilselvi, J

The petitioner, who was arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 07.01.2023 for the alleged offence under Sections 147, 148, 341, 294(b), 324, 302 and 506(ii) of I.P.C. in Crime No.8 of 2023 on the file of the respondent police, seeks bail.

The case of prosecution is that the deceased is a rowdy element in that locality and 7 months back, the deceased along with his friends attacked A1 brutally and a case was registered against him under Sec.307 of I.P.C. Due to that enmity, on 06.01.2023 around 11.00 p.m., while the defacto complainant and the deceased returning to home and near Doss Nagar 7th Street, Chennai, one of accused Revathi said to have shouted that deceased is coming with his wife, go and attack him and based on her instruction, A1 along with other accused attacked him with Aruval, thereby he sustained severe injuries and subsequently, he died. Hence, the complaint was registered against the petitioner.

The learned counsel appearing for petitioner submitted that on the date of occurrence, while this petitioner is waiting at Kasthuri Bai colony, Pulianthope, Chennai, the prime accused A1 in an inebriated mood, forcefully taken his auto from him and the same was recorded in the nearby CCTV footage and the same would clearly proves that he was not present in the scene of occurrence, but the respondent police refused to verify the same and they have falsely implicated him as accused in this case. He would submit that is name was not mentioned in the F.I.R. and based on the confession statement of other accused, he was implicated as accused in this case and he is no way connected with the offence and he has not committed any of offence as alleged by the respondent police. He would also submit that he will abide by any condition that may be imposed by this court. He would also submit that the petitioner has been suffering incarceration for more than 52 days from 07.01.2023. Hence, he prayed to grant bail to the petitioner.

The learned Government Advocate (Crl. Side) appearing for respondent would submit that totally, there are 8 accused involved in this case and the petitioner is arrayed as A5. He would submit that the specific overtact against this petitioner is that his auto was in the hands of A1 and no previous case pending against the petitioner. He would also submit that if he is released on bail, he would hamper the investigation and tamper the witnesses and the investigation is almost completed. However, he would vehemently opposed to grant bail to the petitioner.

Considering the facts and circumstances and also the fact that the investigation is almost completed, and considering the period of incarceration undergone by the petitioner, this Court is inclined to grant bail to the petitioner with certain conditions.

Accordingly, the petitioner is ordered to be released on bail on executing separate bonds for a sum of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only) with two sureties each, in which one surety must be a blood surety, for a like sum to the satisfaction of the learned X Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, Chennai, and on further conditions that::

(a) the sureties shall affix their photographs and left thumb impression in the surety bond and the Magistrate may obtain a copy of their Aadhar card or Bank pass Book to ensure their identity;

(b) the petitioner shall stay at Dharmapuri District and report before Inspector of Police, Dharmapuri Police Station daily at 10.30 a.m. for the period of two months and thereafter, he shall appear before the respondent police on every Saturday at 10.30 a.m. for another period of two months.

(c) the petitioner shall not tamper with evidence or witness either during investigation or trial;

(d) the petitioner shall not abscond either during investigation or trial;

(e) on breach of any of the aforesaid conditions, the learned Magistrate/ Trial Court is entitled to take appropriate action against the petitioner in accordance with law as if the conditions have been imposed and the petitioner released on bail by the learned Magistrate/Trial Court himself as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in P.K.Shaji Vs. State of Kerala [(2005) AIR SCW 5560]; and;

(f) if the accused thereafter absconds, a fresh FIR can be registered under Section 229-A IPC.