Back
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
GOPINATH P., J.
P. Gopalakrishnan Alias Dileep, S/o. Late G. Padmanabha Pillai & Ors. - Petitioners
Versus
State of Kerala, Represented by the Public Prosecutor, High Court of Kerala & Ors. - Respondents
Bail Appl. Nos. 248, 288, 300 of 2022
Decided On : 07-02-2022
Indian Penal Code – Section 120B (1) of 302 – Criminal Procedure Code,1973 - Section 439 (2) – Offence of Criminal Conspiracy - Offence of Murder –1st accused is also 8th accused in Crime No. Police Station referred to as Crime No. which is now pending trial as S.C. No. on file of Additional Sessions Judge (CBI Court-III) - Circumstance which led to registration of Crime No is information given by one that 1st accused together with other accused in case (including yet to be identified 6th accused) conspired to do away with investigating officer and other officers who are connected with investigation etc of Crime No. - Aforesaid filed Annexure-G complaint before Station House Officer, Nedumbassery Police Station and thereafter gave 2 statements namely Annexures H & I giving details of the alleged conspiracy between accused in this case - Whether accused has committed offence or not.
Finding of the Court;
Court of opinion that even if bail is granted to accused it is always open to prosecution to move this court for cancellation of bail or for arrest of accused as held by Constitution Bench in Sushila Aggarwal (supra - However, that can be dealt with by imposing appropriate conditions - If there is material to suggest that accused are influencing or intimidating any witnesses despite conditions imposed by court, that can be a ground to approach this court for cancellation of bail or for arrest of accused - Court also of view that investigation can be properly conducted without custody of accused making it clear that even while on anticipatory bail ‘deemed custody’ or ‘limited custody’ will be with prosecution for purposes of any recovery etc - In this connection, following conclusions of 5 Judge Bench of Supreme Court.
Result: Bail applications are allowed
Key Points: - The judgment discusses granting anticipatory bail in Crime No.6/2022 involving alleged criminal conspiracy and potential murder, referencing standard bail criteria. (!) (!) - It cites the need to consider prima facie case, gravity of allegations, flight risk, witness tampering, and antecedents in bail decisions. (!) - It outlines that bail conditions may include bonds, appearance, cooperation, non-tampering with evidence, non-inducement of witnesses, surrender of passports, and prohibition from committing further crimes. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
ORDER :
The petitioners in these cases are arrayed as accused Nos.1 to 5 in Crime No.6/2022 of Crime Branch Police Station, Ernakulam (hereinafter referred to as Crime No.6/2022) alleging commission of offences under Sections 116, 118, 120-B and 506 of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 34 of that Code. Petitioners in Bail Application No. 248 of 2022 namely, Gopalakrishnan @ Dileep is A1, P. Sivakumar @ Anoop is A2, and T.N. Suraj is A3. The petitioner in Bail Application No. 300 of 2022 namely Krishnaprasad R. is Accused No.4, though he is referred to in the F.I.R as ‘Appu’. The Petitioner in Bail Application No. 288 of 2022 namely Byju B.R. (Baiju Chengamanadu) is the 5th accused. There is one other accused who is yet to be identified. After filing of these bail applications a report has been filed before the Judicial First Class Magistrate-I, by the Investigating Officer in the aforesaid crime stating that the offence under Section 120B (1) of the Code has been changed to 120B (1) of Section 302 of the IPC. The parties are hereinafter referred to by their rank in the list of accused persons unless indicated otherwise. The Annexures referred to in this order are referred to in the manner that they are marked in B.A. No. 248 of 2022, unless indicated otherwise.
2. The 1st accused is also the 8th accused in Crime No.297/2017 of Nedumbassery Police Station (hereinafter referred to as Crime No. 297/2017) which is now pending trial as S.C. No.118/2018 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge (CBI Court-III), Ernakulam. The circumstance which led to the registration of Crime No.6/2022 is the information given by one Balachandra Kumar that the 1st accused together with the other accused in the case (including the yet to be identified 6th accused) conspired to do away with the investigating officer and other officers who are connected with the investigation etc of Crime No.297/2017. The aforesaid Balachandra Kumar filed Annexure-G complaint before the Station House Officer, Nedumbassery Police Station on 22-11-2021 and thereafter gave 2 statements namely Annexures H & I giving the details of the alleged conspiracy between the accused in this case. He also provided certain voice clips and videos and other materials which allegedly prove the existence of the conspiracy. The Station House Officer, Nedumbassery Police Station forwarded the same to the investigating officer in Crime No.297/2017 (One Baiju Paulose, Dy. S.P., Crime Branch, Alappuzha) following which Annexures H & I statements were recorded from Balachandra Kumar by the aforesaid Baiju Paulose and thereafter he submitted Annexure-J complaint 09-01-2022 before the Additional Director-General of Police (Crimes). The said officer directed the S.H.O, Crime Branch Police Station to register a case and also directed its investigation by the Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, Ernakulam. Accordingly, Annexure-F, First Information Report came to be registered as Crime No.6/2022 of Crime Branch Police Station. Apprehending arrest in the aforesaid crime, the petitioners have approached this court by filing the above bail applications.
3. I have heard Sri. B. Raman Pillai, learned Senior Advocate instructed by Mr. Philip T. Varghese, appearing for the petitioners in these bail applications and Sri. T.A. Shaji, learned Senior Advocate and Director General of Prosecutions duly instructed by Sri. P. Narayanan, Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
4. The learned Senior counsel appearing for the petitioners would contend inter alia that the registration of Crime No.6 of 2022 is nothing but a malicious attempt to somehow arrest the 1st accused and to create and fabricate evidence in S.C 118 of 2018. It is submitted there is a marked difference between Annexure-G complaint filed by the aforesaid Balachandra Kumar and Annexure-H statement given by him on one hand and Annexure-I statement on the other. It is submitted that Annexure-I has been suitably dressed up with certain ad
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
