Bail is the rule and jail is the exception; courts must grant bail unless compelling reasons exist to deny it.

ORDER

This Bail Application is filed under Section 483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita .

2. Petitioner is the accused in Crime No.15 of 2024 of Cyber Crime Police Station, Kozhikode. The above case is registered against the petitioner under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code . The petitioner in in custody from 19.10.2024 onwards.

3. The prosecution case is that in between 01.05.2024 and 06.07.2024 the accused persons contacted the defacto complainant through Whats app group, a fake app by name Groww International App and made the defacto complainant believed that more profits

4 will be given and manged to obtain Rs.4,80,54,000/- in 24 different transaction from three different bank accounts. The offence alleged are under Section 406 and 420 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code . The offence under Section 66 (C) and 66(D) of Information Technology Act is also alleged.

4. Heard counsel for the petitioner and the Public Prosecutor.

5. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is in custody from 19.10.2024 onwards. He is a BA course student studying in S.D College, Alappuzha. The petitioner's examination is on 09.12.2024. It is submitted that he is not involved in this case. The only allegation against the petitioner is that some amount is credited in the account of t he petitioner.

6. The Public Prosecutor seriously opposes the application. He submitted that the petitioner is a 5 member of a gang which commits Cyber crimes. But, I think there is a force in the argument of the Public Prosecutor. But, the petitioner is a youngster and there is no criminal antecedents alleged against the petitioner. It is submitted that he is a student and his examination is scheduled from 09.12.2024 onwards. Moreover, the petitioner is in custody from 19.10.2024.

7. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and also considering the fact that the petitioner is in custody from 19.10.2024 onwards, the continuous detention of the petitioner is not necessary.

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

6 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. Moreover, in Jalaluddin Khan v. Union of India [2024 KHC 6431] , the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that:

“21. Before we part with the Judgment, we must mention here that the Special Court and the High Court did not consider the material in the charge sheet objectively. Perhaps the focus was more on the activities of PFI, and therefore, the appellant's case could not be properly appreciated. When a case is made out for a grant of bail, the Courts should not have any hesitation in granting bail. The allegations of the prosecution may be very serious. But, the duty of the Courts is to consider the case for grant of bail in accordance with the law. "Bail is the rule and jail is an exception" is a settled law. Even in a case like the present case where there are stringent conditions for the grant of bail in the relevant statutes, the same rule 7 holds good with only modification that the bail can be granted if the conditions in the statute are satisfied. The rule also means that once a case is made out for the grant of bail, the Court cannot decline to grant bail. If the Courts start denying bail in deserving cases, it will be a violation of the rights guaranteed under Art.21 of our Constitution. ” (underline supplied)

10. In Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement [2024 KHC 6426] , also the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed tha