Bail is the rule and jail is the exception; arrest must be justified and not routine, emphasizing personal liberty.

O R D E R

This Bail Application is filed under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita .

2. The petitioners are the accused in crime No. 472/2025 of Parassala Police Station. The above case is registered against the petitioners alleging offences punishable under Secs.126(2), 351(2), 115(2), 118(1), 296(b) r/w 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

3. The prosecution case is that on14.03.2025 at 5 pm, the accused Nos. 1 to 5, who are ABVP workers, due to political animosity, wrongfully restrained the defacto complainant, while the defacto complainant was coming out of VTM NSS College, Dhanuvachapuram. After restraining the defacto complainant, the accused persons forcefully took the defacto complainant to the college ground and the 1^st accused beat him with an iron rod, which was handed over to him by the 2^nd accused. Hence, it is alleged that the accused committed the offences.

4. Heard counsel for the petitioners and the Public Prosecutor.

5. The counsel for the petitioners submitted that the only non-bailable offence alleged is under Sec.118(1) of the BNS. The counsel submitted that the petitioners are ready to abide any conditions, if this Court grant them bail. The Public Prosecutor opposed the bail application. But, the Public Prosecutor submitted that there is no criminal antecedents are alleged against the petitioners, as per the report received by him. Admittedly, the petitioners are students. No criminal antecedents is alleged against the petitioners. The only non- bailable offence alleged against the petitioners is Sec. 118(1) BNS. The maximum punishment that can be imposed for the offences alleged is 3 years. Considering the facts and circumstances of this case, I think the petitioners can be released on bail after imposing stringent conditions.

6. Moreover, it is a well accepted principle that the bail is the rule and the jail is the exception. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Chidambaram. P v Directorate of Enforcement [2019 (16) SCALE 870], after considering all the earlier judgments, observed that, the basic jurisprudence relating to bail remains the same inasmuch as the grant of bail is the rule and refusal is the exception so as to ensure that the accused has the opportunity of securing fair trial.

7. Recently the Apex Court in Siddharth v State of Uttar Pradesh and Another [2021(5)KHC 353] considered the point in detail. The relevant paragraph of the above judgment is extracted hereunder.

“12. We may note that personal liberty is an important aspect of our constitutional mandate. The occasion to arrest an accused during investigation arises when custodial investigation becomes necessary or it is a heinous crime or where there is a possibility of influencing the witnesses or accused may abscond. Merely because an arrest can be made because it is lawful does not mandate that arrest must be made. A distinction must be made between the existence of the power to arrest and the justification for exercise of it. (Joginder Kumar v. State of UP and Others (1994 KHC 189: (1994) 4 SCC 260: 1994 (1) KLT 919: 1994 (2) KLJ 97: AIR 1994 SC 1349: 1994 CriLJ 1981)) If arrest is made routine, it can cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self-esteem of a person. If the Investigating Officer has no reason to believe that the accused will abscond or disobey summons and has, in fact, throughout cooperated with the investigation we fail to appreciate why there should be a compulsion on the officer to arrest the accused.”

8. In Manish Sisodia v. Central Bureau of Investigation [2023 KHC 6961], the Apex Court observed that even if the allegation is one of grave economic offence, it is not a rule that bail should be denied in every case.

9. Considering the dictum laid down in the above decision and considering the facts and circumstances of this case, this Bail Application is allowed with the following directions:

1. The petitioners shall appear before the Investigating Officer within two weeks from today and shall undergo int