The court established that age and health can be significant factors in bail decisions, especially when investigations are progressing satisfactorily.

ORDER

Application for regular bail filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure .

2. The petitioner is the first accused in Crime No.232 of 2021 of Kayamkulam Police Station registered for the offences punishable under Sections 120(B) and 420 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

3. He has been in custody since 30.7.2021.

4. The allegation is that this petitioner along with the other accused had promised a job for the son of the defacto complainant in the Airport Authority of India and induced him to part with a sum of Rs.17 lakhs. Thus the defacto complainant believing the petitioner as well the other accused with the hope of securing a job for his son had parted with the money on 9.7.2019. But they failed to arrange a job as promised and thus cheated the defacto complainant and thereby committed the aforesaid offences.

5. Heard the learned Senior counsel for the petitioner as well the learned Public Prosecutor.

6. The learned senior counsel for the petitioner has submitted that in fact this petitioner was having business transaction with the defacto complainant and he had borrowed a sum of Rs.14 lakhs from him, to his business purpose. The said amount was deposited in his account by the defacto complainant and after few months he had repaid the amount by way of cheque. That was in the year 2019. But unfortunately in the year 2021 he came to know that at the instigation of this petitioner and others, a private complaint has been filed before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Kayamkulam and this crime has been registered against the petitioner and two others. In fact the transaction with the defacto complainant was purely a business transaction and that was the reason why he had issued cheque for repayment of the entire amount received from him. But he was arrested on 30.7.2021 and he is undergoing incarceration since the date of his arrest. The petitioner is a senior citizen aged 76 years.

Hence, this application for his release on bail .

7. According to the learned Public Prosecutor the investigation of the case is well in progress and all the accused have been arrested by the investigating officer.

8. It is revealed from the records that the investigation of the case has progressed considerably. The petitioner is aged 76 years. Considering the pandemic situation of our country, further detention of him in jail may affect his health condition adversely as an elderly person coming under vulnerable age group. Moreover, as the investigation of the case has progressed considerably further detention may not be required for the investigating agency to submit the final report.

Hence considering all these facts as well the other facts and circumstances involved in this case, I am inclined to release him on bail subject to the following conditions.

(i) The petitioner shall be released on bail on his executing bond for a sum of Rs.1,00,000 /- (Rupees one lakh only) with two solvent sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the court having jurisdiction.

(ii) The petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer for interrogation as and when required by him, in writing, till filing of the final report.

(iii) The petitioner shall not directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence.

(iv) The petitioner shall not commit any offence while on bail.

In case of violation of any of the above conditions, the learned Magistrate is empowered to cancel the bail in accordance with the law.