The petitioner, who is accused of committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault, seeks the protection of pre-arrest bail envisaged under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Code').

2. The petitioner is the accused in the case registered as Crime No.1248/2018 of the Adoor police station. The case was initially registered under Section 57 of the Kerala Police Act, 2011. The missing person, who was a minor girl, was later found out from the house of the petitioner. Subsequently, the petitioner was implicated as an accused in the case for committing the offences punishable under Sections 363 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 5(l) read with 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') and also under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

3. The facts of the case can be briefly stated as follows:

The victim girl was found missing from her house from 11.05.2018 onwards. On the basis of the statement given to the police by the father of the girl, Crime No.1248/2018 of the Adoor police station was registered under Section 57 of