A solitary pending crime cannot justify the imposition of a bond under Section 107 of Cr.P.C if there are no valid reasons for such a restriction.

O R D E R

Dated this the 17^th day of January, 2025 The challenge in this Crl.MC is against Annexure-

I order under Section 111 of Cr.P.C issued by the Sub Divisional Magistrate Court, Muvattupuzha. The challenge is mainly on the ground that the report of the Station House Officer, based on which the order is passed, does not contain the details of the alleged instances of breach of peace and nuisance, committed by the petitioner in the recent past.

2. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the order has been passed only for reason of the petitioner being an accused in the three crimes mentioned in the order. It is submitted that out of the three crimes, the petitioner has been acquitted in Crime No.1084 of 2021, and the offence alleged in Crime No. 285 of 2024 being under Section 15(c) of the Abkari Act, petitioner pleaded guilty and was imposed with a fine of Rs. 500/-. It is the contention of the learned Counsel that pendency of a solitary crime cannot be projected as a reason for compelling a citizen to execute a bond under Section 107 of Cr.P.C, thereby curtailing his liberty. To buttress the contention, reliance is based on the decision in Ahammad Kabeer v. State of Kerala and Another [ ILR 2014 (2) Ker. 152 ]

3. Learned Public Prosecutor also admits that out of the three crimes mentioned in the order, only one is subsisting as on date.

4. A close reading of Annexure-I order reveals that, other than a vague allegation regarding the petitioner’s involvement in activities leading to breach of peace in the locality, no details of the unlawful activity which the petitioner had indulged in, is stated. It is also pertinent to note that, of the three crimes mentioned in the impugned order, only Crime No. 2 of 2021 is pending as on date. As held by this Court in Ahammad Kabeer (Supra), in the absence of a report showing involvement in criminal activities in the recent past, a person cannot be compelled to execute the bond under Section 107 of Cr.P.C, since that amounts to curtailment of an individual’s liberty which is sacrosanct and is not to be meddled with, in the absence of valid reasons.

In the result this Crl.MC is allowed. Annexure-I order and all further proceedings in M.C No. 66 of 2024 on the files of the Sub Divisional Magistrate Court, Muvattupuzha, is quashed.