Point of Law: Secs.177 of Cr.P.C., provide as Every offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by a Court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed.

JUDGMENT :

ALEXANDER THOMAS, J.

The aforecaptioned appeal has been instituted under Sec. 21(4) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, 2008, to impugn the order dated 18.11.2022 rendered by the Special Court for trial of NIA cases, Kerala, Ernakulam (hereinafter referred for short as “the Special Court”) on Crl.M.P.No.183 of 2022 in S.C.No.3/2022/NIA/KOC, whereby the plea of the appellants herein (A-5 and A-6), for grant of regular bail under Sec.439 of the Cr.P.C., has been rejected on the ground that the Special Court, after perusal of the case diary records and the final report/charge sheet filed in the case, is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accusations against the bail applicants/accused persons are prima facie true, as envisaged in the proviso to Sec. 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (“UAPA” for short). The appellants impugn the legality and correctness of the above said verdict of the Special Court, in refusing to grant regular bail to them, on the above ground.

2. Heard Sri.K.S.Madhusoodanan, learned Advocate, instructed and ably assisted by Sri. Thushar Nirmal Sarathy, learned counsel appearing for the appellants/applicants/A-5 & A-6 and Sri. S. Manu, learned Dy. Solicitor General of India, who is the authorized counsel for the respondent (National Investigation Agency – “NIA”, for short), instructed and ably assisted by Sri. K. S. Prenjith Kumar, learned Central Government Counsel appearing for NIA.

3. The brief facts leading to the above bail appeal may be stated as hereunder :

The two appellants herein have been arrayed as A-5 & A-6 respectively, among the six accused in the instant Annexure-I crime, registered by the NIA as per FIR No. RC-01/2022/NIA/KOC dated 03.02.2022, for offences punishable, as per Secs.18, 18A, 18B, 20, 38 & 39 of the UAP Act and Sec. 120B of the IPC. The two appellants herein would be referred for convenience as A-5 & A-6 respectively.

4. Earlier, FIR in Crime No.21/2020 of Kelakom Police Station, Kannur District, Kerala State was registered by the Kerala Police on 20.01.2020, in which, initially, four activists of the Communist Party of India (Maoists) have been arrayed as the accused therein, for offences punishable under Secs.20, 38 & 39 of the UAPA and Sec.124A read with Sec.34 of the IPC, in which, subsequently, A-5 and some other persons have been arrayed as accused. The gist of the allegations in the said FIR/Crime No.21/2020 of Kelakom Police Station, as discernible from Column No.12 of the said FIR, is as follows :

[that, on 20.01.2020 at 6.30 a.m. in the morning, at Kottiyoor area, Ambayathode, four Maoist activists, including a woman belonging to the proscribed organization by name “CPI (Maoist)”, had raised slogans and had distributed notices and had pasted posters, calling upon and urging for armed struggle and anti-national uprising, in order to wreak vengeance against the blood spilled in Attappadi, etc.]

5. FIR in Crime No. 29/2020 of Thalappuzha Police Station, Wayanad District, Kerala State, has been registered on 08.02.2020, against one person, named Raman and six other unknown persons, for offences punishable under Secs. 15, 20 & 38 of the UAPA and Sec.7 of the Arms Act and Secs. 143, 147, 148, 124A & 149 of the IPC, in which, subsequently, A-5 herein and some other persons have been named in the accused array. The gist of the allegations in the said FIR, as disclosed in Column No. 12 thereof, is as follows :

[that, on 08.02.2020 at about 12.50 noon, at Kambamala Tea Estate Paddy at Thavinjal Village, seven accused persons, who belong to the proscribed organization by name “CPI (Maoist)”, and clad in green uniform, had unlawfully assembled, armed with guns and had called upon the people to resort to armed revolution against the Government and had raised slogans and distributed notices and had pasted anti-national posters and had thus, indulged in antinational activities, etc.].

6. Yet another crime has been re