Bail is the rule and jail is the exception; serious allegations do not automatically warrant denial of bail, especially in cases with competing narratives.

ORDER :

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

2. Petitioners are the accused in Crime No.146/2025 of Adhur Police Station, Kasargode. The above case is registered against the petitioners and others alleging offences punishable under Sections 118 (1) & 110 r/w 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (for short 'BNS').

3. The prosecution case is that the accused, because of their enmity towards the defacto complainant as he kicked on the platform erected for a Holy Basil situated in front of the Toddy shop, assaulted the defacto complainant from opposite to the toddy shop at Kanathur in Muliyar Village on 26.02.2025 at 12.00 noon. The 1^st accused assaulted the defacto complainant by beating with Nanjek on his head. Thereupon, at around 12.30 pm the accused 2 to 4 who reached the place as informed by the 1^st accused followed by the defacto complaint and assaulted him by using sticks at Ambalam Road. The accused assaulted as above by beating on the nose and head of the defacto complainant. Hence it is alleged that the accused committed the above said offences.

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

5. Counsel for the petitioners submitted that it is a case and counter case. Annexure-A1 is the FIR in this case and Annexur-A2 is the FIR in the counter case. The counsel submitted that the petitioners are ready to abide any conditions if this Court grant them bail.

6. The Public Prosecutor opposed the bail application and submitted that the allegations against the petitioners are serious.

7. This Court considered the contentions of the petitioners and the Public Prosecutor. It is true that the allegations against the petitioners are serious. But it is a case and counter case. There are two versions about the same incident. Which version is correct cannot be decided in a bail application. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, I think this bail application can be allowed on 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. 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.”

10. 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.

11. Considering the dictum laid down in the