The question involved in this Bail Application is whether an accused in a case triable exclusively by the Court of Session, who appears before the Magistrate on summons in the committal proceedings, in entitled to bail as of right on the ground that only summons was issued to him, or whether discretion could be exercised by the Magistrate to deny bail to him.

2. The petitioners, who are accused Nos.9, 11 and 14 in Crime No.481/CR/HHW/III/10 for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 326, 328, 120B, 471 and 201 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 55(a) and 57A of the Kerala Abkari Act, appeared on 29.6.2011 before the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class I, Tirur in C.P.Case No.35 of 2011, in obedience to the summons issued by the learned Magistrate. They moved for bail under Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Bail Application was dismissed by the learned Magistrate by the order dated 30.6.2011. The petitioners filed application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the Sessions Court, Manjeri. The Sessions Court dismissed the application by the order dated 5.7.2011. Therefore, the petitioners have filed this Bail Application under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

3. The petitioners contended before the learned Magistrate that only summons having been issued to them, the Magistrate had no jurisdiction to remand them to judicial custody. The same contention is raised by the petitioners before this Court, relying on the decisions in Sreekumarv. State of Kerala (2008 (3) KLT 748) and George v. State of Kerala (2009 (1) KLT 277).

4. The prosecution case is the following: On 5.9.2010 at about 6.25 PM, a dead body of a male aged about 35 years was found at the platform of Kuttippuram Railway Station. Crime No.290 of 2010 was registered at Kuttipuram Police Station for unnatural death. The deceased was identified as Dhanasekharan, a native of Tamil Nadu. The dead body was subjected to postmortem examination. It was revealed that the deceased died due to consumption of adulterated toddy from a toddy shop at Kuttipuram. Subsequently, it came to the notice of the police that fourteen other persons also died as a result of consumption of adulterated toddy from the toddy shops at Kuttippuram, Beeranchira and Perassannur. The samples of toddy kept in these toddy shops were collected and sent for analysis. The report of analysis showed that the toddy contained methyl alcohol, a noxious substance.

5. Seven Crimes were registered at Kuttipuram Police Station, Six Crimes at Tirur Police Station and one Crime at Kolathur Police Station were also registered. The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Tirur, who conducted the investigation clubbed the crime cases in Kuttippuram and Tirur Police Station. Accordingly, all the cases were brought under Crime No.290 of 2010 at Kuttipuram Police Station and Crime No.668 of 2010 of Tirur Police Station. Considering the gravity of the case, the Crime Branch took over the investigation on 14.9.2010.

6. The investigation revealed that the toddy shops at Kuttippuram, Beeranchira and Perassannur were being conducted by one Dravyan, accused No.1, though the licensees of the toddy shops at Kuttippuram and Perassannur were accused Nos.2 and 3. The salesmen in the toddy shops, the licensees and the persons who conducted the shops were all made accused in the case. The petitioners are the authorized salesmen of the three toddy shops referred to above. The prosecution case is that accused Nos.1 to 18 entered into a criminal conspiracy and they mixed methyl alcohol, a poisonous substance, with toddy, in order to achieve wrongful gain and with the knowledge that such mixture of toddy is harmful to human beings. A total number of fifteen persons died as a result of the hooch tragedy referred to above. Three persons lost their eyesight. It is alleged that toddy mixed with methyl alcohol was being sold in the shops under t