Anticipatory bail can be granted if the seriousness of the offenses does not necessitate custodial interrogation and the applicant is likely to cooperate with the investigation.

O R D E R

Dated this the 31st day of March 2021 Application for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. The applicant is the sole accused in Crime No.7/2021 of Varappuzha Police Station for having allegedly committed offences punishable under Sections 324 and 326 of IPC .

2. The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 03.1.2021 at about 8.30 p.m. at Olanad kara in Alangad Village while the de facto complainant was walking along the road with his dog, the applicant allegedly assaulted him by means of a dangerous weapon like an iron rod on his head and legs causing a fracture to his upper central incisors and he also sustained lacerated injuries on both his lips and a lacerated injury on the parietal temporal region of his head.

3. The applicant states that he is innocent and the allegations are not true and that it was the de facto complainant who had trespassed into his house with his dog and had harassed his minor children. When the applicant questioned him about it, he ran away from there and in the process, he fell down and sustained the aforesaid injuries and it was not as a result of the assault that the injuries were caused. The applicant, therefore, seeks pre-arrest bail as the custodial interrogation of the applicant is not required and he is a senior citizen.

4. Heard the learned counsel for the applicant and the learned Public Prosecutor as also the learned counsel appearing for the de facto complainant.

5. The learned Public Prosecutor points out that the applicant is a criminal having two other criminal antecedents against him for having committed offences punishable under the JJ Act and also under the IPC and the crimes were registered in the years 2016 and 2017.

6. The learned counsel appearing for the de facto complainant points out that the applicant is a notorious criminal and he has committed several crimes, although only two crimes registered against him and that he is a nuisance to the society and harassing several persons in the locality. Therefore, the application for bail is vehemently opposed by both the learned counsel appearing for the de facto complainant as also the learned Public Prosecutor. The learned Public Prosecutor also submits that the weapon with which the applicant had assaulted the de facto complainant is still to be recovered. Therefore, he has to be subjected to custodial interrogation.

7. After having heard the submissions made on both sides, I find that the injury sustained by the de facto complainant is not life-threatening. He has lost two of his teeth. The learned counsel appearing for the de facto complainant submits that his jawbones were dislocated but those injuries are not referred to by the learned Public Prosecutor. The other lacerated injuries were in the parietal region. The applicant has criminal antecedents and is admitted by the learned counsel appearing for the applicant and that the case in 2016, he was already acquitted as is evident from Annexure 13 document. In the other crime which was registered in the year 2017, an offence under Section 75 of the JJ Act is also not attracted, if the allegations made therein are to be believed. The learned counsel for the applicant submits that he has not been involved in any crime subsequent to 2018. The allegation made by the learned counsel appearing for the de facto complainant is that he is involved in several criminal activities that are not substantiated by any documents. There is no fear of the applicant absconding since he has a permanent place of residence with a family consisting of a wife and four children.

Under the circumstances, I find that custodial interrogation of the applicant may not be necessary. He is willing to cooperate with the investigation. He is a senior citizen and therefore, the application is allowed and the applicant is directed to surrender before the investigating officer within two weeks. In the event of his arrest, after interrogation and recovery, he shall be released on bail on the execu