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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
V.G.ARUN, J
Jamaludheen Farooque, S/o T. Abdulla – Appellant
Versus
Muneer Ahmed S/o K. Ahammed Koya – Respondent
ORDER :
The petitioners were accused Nos.2 to 4 in S.T.No.908 of 2019 of the Special Judicial First Class Magistrate (N.I. Act Cases), Kozhikode. The case originated from a complaint filed by the 1st respondent against the 1st accused company and its Directors, alleging commission of the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The trial court convicted the petitioners, sentenced the 1st accused company to pay fine of Rs.1,00,000/- and the petitioners, with a fine of Rs.2,60,00,000/-. Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence, the accused preferred Crl.Appeal No.63 of 2025 before the Sessions Court, Kozhikode, along with a petition (CMP No.419 of 2025) for suspending the sentence. By the impugned order, the appellate court suspended the execution of the sentence, subject to the petitioners executing bond for Rs.2,60,00,000/- with two solvent sureties each for the like sum. This Crl.M.C is filed aggrieved by the above condition.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that, right from the decision in Motiram and Others v. State of Madhya Pradesh, [1978 KLT 747 (SC)] onwards, the constitutional courts have deprecated the practice of imposing
Bail conditions must ensure the presence of the accused and should not impose onerous financial guarantees related to the fine amount.
Suspension of sentence and release on bail – Bail/surety bonds are executed to ensure presence of accused/appellant whenever required by court, and not as a guarantee for fine amount or amount sought....
Excessive bail conditions may infringe on the fundamental right to liberty, necessitating a balance with attending trial requirements.
Excessive bail conditions infringe upon fundamental rights, necessitating reasonable surety to avoid penalization for seeking liberty.
A surety bond is unenforceable without a corresponding personal bond from the accused, as per S. 499 CrPC.
The court reinforces the principle of penalizing sureties for the non-appearance of accused when bond conditions are violated.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the right to statutory bail is a fundamental right and cannot be frustrated by unreasonable conditions. The sufficiency of sureties is not dep....
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