Point of Law: Even an oral application would suffice the requirement of default bail.

JUDGMENT :

1. Crl.Appeal No.1121 of 2022 and Crl.Appeal No.1132 of 2022 arise out of orders dated 20.10.2022 in Crl.M.P.No.1252/2022 and 18.10.2022 in Crl.M.P.No.1262/2022 respectively on the file of the Special Court for Trial of offences under Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as ‘SC/ST(POA) Act’ for convenience), Mannarkkad. Accused No.11 is the petitioner in Crl.M.P No.1252/2022 and accused Nos.2 and 5 are the petitioners in Crl.M.P.No.1262/2022 in Crime No.159/2022 of Agali Police Station.

2. Accused Nos.2, 5 and 11 in the same crime have filed Crl.Appeal Nos.1132/2022 and 1121/2022 challenging dismissal of default bail application and regular bail application respectively, submitted by the accused before the Special Court.

3. Heard the learned counsel for the appellants as well as the learned Public Prosecutor in detail. In these matters though notices were given to the defacto complainant as mandated under Section 15-A(3) of the SC/ST (POA) Act, the defacto complainant did not appear.

4. In Crime No.159/2022, the prosecution alleges commission of offences punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 341, 323, 324, 307, 302, 342, 363, 364, 365, 367, 368, 120(B), 392 and 201 r/w 149 IPC and Section 3(2)(v), 3(2)(va) of SC/ST (POA) Act and the allegation is that the accused persons hatched conspiracy to murder one Vinayan and his friend Nandakishore and pursuant to the said conspiracy, on 28.06.2022 accused Nos.1 to 3 kidnapped and brought the said Vinayan to Agali from Kombidinjamakkal, Thrissur in a car bearing No.KL-50-J-9682. Thereafter accused Nos.1, 2, 3 and 6 have brought the aforesaid Vinayan at Grand Residency Lodge, Kakkuppadi in an autorickshaw bearing No.KL-50-C-5217 and detained Vinayan in room No.108 of that lodge. In that room accused Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 6 had beaten the said Vinayan. Thereafter on 29.06.2022 accused Nos.1 to 3 had shifted the aforesaid Vinayan to house bearing No.XI/568 of Agali Grama Panchayath from that lodge and wrongfully confined in that house after tying his limbs. Thereafter on 30.06.2022 accused Nos.1 to 10, who do not belong to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe community, formed themselves into an unlawful assembly at that house and in prosecution of that unlawful assembly, all of them had beaten Vinayan by using dangerous weapons such as iron rod, wooden stick, bamboo stick etc. on his head and on various parts of his body with intent to kill him knowing that Vinayan was a member of Scheduled Tribe community. The accused persons have brutally beaten the aforesaid Vinayan.

5. The further allegation is that on 30.06.2022 at about 10.30 pm accused Nos.1, 5 and 7 brought the above mentioned Nandakishore from his house situated near to Sidhi Vinayaka Temple, Bhoothivazhi, Agali in a motor cycle bearing No.KL-51-L-6054 to the very same house, wherein Vinayan was wrongfully confined. The accused persons had tied the limbs of Nandakishore also. In prosecution of their common object to kill Nandakishore and Vinayan, accused persons 1 to 10 had beaten both of them by using iron rod, wooden stick etc. and stamped them. Accordingly, the said Nandakishore and Vinayan have succumbed to death. The accused persons further threatened the friend of Nandakishore namely Athulkrishna and wrongfully restrained him. The allegation against the 11th accused is that he had destroyed the mobile phone which was forcefully taken from Haris with intention to destroy the evidence of this case.

6. The vital question to be decided in these appeals is whether filing of an application through on-line within time, to canvass statutory/default bail under Section 167(2) of Cr.P.C without filing an application in physical court within time, could be treated as an application filed for statutory bail within time ?

In order to answer this query, the contentions raised by accused Nos.2 and 5 are required to be considered.

7. It is argued by the learned counsel for ac