An accused is entitled to pre-arrest bail if their custodial interrogation is not necessary and they have no criminal antecedents.

Dated this the 30th day of November, 2023 This application is filed u/s 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking pre-arrest bail.

2. The applicant is the sole accused in Crime No.1507/2023 of Kuravilangadu Police Station. The offences alleged are punishable under Section 279 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 139 of the Electricity Act.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that on 24.10.2023 at about 8.00 a.m, the applicant drove his car bearing registration No.KL-45-M-7131 in a rash and negligent manner and hit against the electricity post causing damage to the post and thereby committed the offences alleged.

4. I have heard Sri. Luke J Chirayil, the learned counsel for the applicant and Smt. T.V. Neema, the learned Public Prosecutor.

Perused the case diary.

5. The learned counsel for the applicant submitted that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. The counsel further submitted that no materials are on record to connect the applicant with the alleged crime; hence, he entitled to get bail. The learned Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, submitted that the alleged incident occurred as a part of the intentional criminal acts of the applicant, and if he is released on bail at this stage, it will affect the course of the investigation.

6. Initially, the crime was registered under Section 279 of the IPC alone and Section 139 of the Electricity Act was added subsequently. The only allegation against the applicant is that the vehicle that he was driving got involved in an accident whereby the said vehicle hit the electric post. Annexure A2 would show that the applicant has been hospitalized as an inpatient for four days and he has no other criminal antecedents. Considering the allegations levelled against the applicant, his custodial interrogation does not appear to be necessary. For these reasons, it is a fit case where pre-arrest bail can be granted to the applicant.

In the result, the application is allowed on the following conditions:- (i) The applicant shall be released on bail in the event of his arrest on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One lakh only) with two solvent sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the arresting officer/investigating officer, as the case may be.

(ii) The applicant shall fully cooperate with the investigation, including subjecting himself to the deemed police custody for discovery, if any, as and when demanded.

(iii) The applicant shall appear before the investigating officer between 10.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. every Saturday until further orders. He shall also appear before the investigating officer as and when required.

(iv) The applicant shall not commit any offence of a like nature while on bail.

(v) The applicant shall not attempt to contact any of the prosecution witnesses, directly or through any other person, or in any other way try to tamper with the evidence or influence any witnesses or other persons related to the investigation.

(vi) The applicant shall not leave the State of Kerala without the permission of the trial Court.

(vii) The application, if any, for deletion/modification of bail conditions or cancellation of bail on the grounds of violating the bail conditions shall be filed at the jurisdictional court.