Bail is the rule and jail is the exception; courts must grant bail when warranted, regardless of the seriousness of allegations.

O R D E R

This Bail Application is filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita .

2. Petitioners are the accused in Crime No.1045 of 2024 of Kanjiramkulam Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram. The above case is registered against the petitioners alleging offences punishable under Sections 333 , 296, 118(1), 109 and

3(5) of the BNS.

3. The prosecution case is that the petitioners on account of prior animosity with the defacto complainant, on 14.11.2024 at 8.30 PM, trespassed into the house of the defacto complainant and uttered abusive words and inflicted cut injuries on the head of the defacto complainant by using knife. It is further alleged that the 2 nd petitioner by using an iron rod assaulted on the left hand of the defacto complainant and her mother. The 1 st petitioner further inflicted a stab injury on the abdomen of the mother of the defacto complainant by using a scissor. It is further alleged that the 1 st petitioner caused stab injury on the neck of the brother of the defacto complainant by using a scissor. The petitioners were arrested on 15.11.2024 and they are in custody.

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

5. Counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners are in custody from 15.11.2024. The petitioners and the defacto complainant are relatives and neighbours. It is also submitted that the matter is settled and an affidavit is also filed by the victim as evident by Annexure-3.

6. The Public Prosecutor seriously opposed the bail application. The Public Prosecutor takes me through the wound certificate of the injured and submitted that it is a serious case in which the petitioners inflicted fatal injuries to the injured.

7. It is true that the allegation against the petitioners are very serious. It is also a fact that the injured sustained very serious injuries. Simply because the matter is settled, this Court cannot release the petitioners on bail because the offence alleged include the offence under Section 109 of the BNS. But, considering the fact that the petitioners are in custody from 15.11.2024, I think the bail can be granted after imposing stringent conditions.

8. 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.

9. Moreover, in Jalaluddin Khan v. Union of India [2024 KHC 6431] , the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that:

“21. Before we part with the Judgment, we must mention here that the Special Court and the High Court did not consider the material in the charge sheet objectively. Perhaps the focus was more on the activities of PFI, and therefore, the appellant's case could not be properly appreciated. When a case is made out for a grant of bail, the Courts should not have any hesitation in granting bail. The allegations of the prosecution may be very serious. But, the duty of the Courts is to consider the case for grant of bail in accordance with the law. "Bail is the rule and jail is an exception" is a settled law. Even in a case like the present case where there are stringent conditions for the grant of bail in the relevant statutes, the same rule holds good with only modification that the bail can be granted if the conditions in the statute are satisfied. The rule also means that once a case is made out for the grant of bail, the Court cannot decline to grant bail. If the Courts start denying bail in deserving cases, it will be a vio