Bail is the rule and custodial interrogation is not necessary for offences with a maximum punishment of three years, emphasizing the protection of personal liberty.

O R D E R

These Bail Applications are filed under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita . These bail applications are connected and therefore, I am disposing these bail applications by a common order.

2. The petitioners are accused in Crime No. 247/2025 of Vizhinjam Police Station. The above case is registered against the petitioners alleging offences punishable under Sec.75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (for short 'JJ Act') and Sec. 31 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (for short 'DV Act').

3. The prosecution case is that, the accused persons with an intention to cause mental agony to the defacto complainant and her children and to leave them, the accused persons locked the door of the house and denied dress and other things to them. It is also alleged that the accused violated the orders passed by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-II, Neyyattinkara in MC No. 19/2024. 4. Heard counsel for the petitioners and the Public Prosecutor.

5. The counsel for the petitioners submitted that even if the entire allegations are accepted, the allegations are in connection with a matrimonial dispute. The counsel submitted that the maximum punishment that can be imposed for the offences alleged is only upto 3 years. The counsel submitted that no such incident happened as alleged in the complaint. It is also submitted that the alleged incident happened on 07.02.2025. The FIR is registered on 08.02.2025 stating that there is violation of interim order passed by the Magistrate Court. Subsequently, on 10.02.2025, the case pending before the Magistrate Court is withdrawn. Therefore, as on today, there is no interim order in force. The counsel appearing for the defacto complainant seriously opposed the bail application. The counsel submitted that even if the main MC is withdrawn subsequently, as on the date on which the alleged incident happened, the interim order was in force. Therefore, it cannot be said that the petitioners have not committed any offence. The counsel submitted that it is a clear case in which the petitioners committed the alleged offence. The defacto complainant is the wife. The defacto complainant and her minor children suffered a lot from the petitioners.

6. This Court considered the contentions of the petitioners and the Public Prosecutor. It is true that the allegation against the petitioners are serious. But the fact remains that the maximum punishment that can be imposed for the offences alleged is only upto 3 years. The counsel appearing for the defacto complainant submitted that if there is threat to the life of the victim, the punishment can go upto 10 years. But, again the fact remains that this is a matrimonial dispute between the parties. The cases are pending before the Family Court and before the Magistrate Court. Considering the facts and circumstances of this case, the custodial interrogation of the petitioners are not necessary. Therefore, the petitioners can be released on bail, after imposing stringent conditions.

7. 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.

8. 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 t