The court held that pre-arrest bail is warranted when custodial interrogation isn't necessary and evidence does not substantiate the accusations.

ORDER

This application is filed u/s 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita , 2023 seeking pre-arrest bail.

2. The applicant is the accused in Crime No.292/2024 of Elamakkara Police Station, Ernakulam. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 354D and 506 of the IPC and Section 67 (A) of the Information Technology Act , 2000.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that during the year 2021, the applicant approached the defacto complainant and her family at their residence situated at Elamakkara with a marriage proposal to her daughter and also threatened them that if they deny his proposal, he will kill the defacto complainant and her son and in the year 2024, the applicant sent obscene messages regarding the defacto complainant's daughter to her marital house in Thalassery and to her relatives and also published her daughter's morphed obscene photos in the internet and thereby committed the offences.

4. I have heard Sri. S.R. Sreejith, the learned counsel for the applicant and Sri. E.C. Bineesh, the learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.

5. The learned counsel for the applicant submitted that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. The counsel further submitted that no materials are on record to connect the applicant with the alleged crime; hence, he is entitled to get bail. The learned Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, submitted that the alleged incident occurred as a part of the intentional criminal acts of the applicant, and if he is released on bail at this stage, it will affect the course of the investigation.

6. The applicant and the victim were studying together in a college. The allegation is that, after the marriage of the victim with another person, the applicant has been harassing her by sending letters to her relatives and also uploading her morphed obscene photos in the internet. However, in the investigation conducted so far, no such materials have been seized. The learned counsel for the applicant submitted that the applicant was already questioned by the investigating officer thrice. In these circumstances, I am of the view that the custodial interrogation of the applicant is not necessary. The applicant has no criminal antecedents. For these reasons, it is a fit case where pre-arrest bail can be granted to the applicant.

In the result, the application is allowed on the following conditions:-

(i) The applicant shall be released on bail in the event of his arrest on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One lakh only) with two solvent sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the arresting officer/investigating officer, as the case may be.

(ii) The applicant shall fully cooperate with the investigation, including subjecting himself to the deemed police custody for discovery, if any, as and when demanded.

(iii) The applicant shall appear before the investigating officer between 10.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. every Saturday until further orders. He shall also appear before the investigating officer as and when required.

(iv) The applicant shall not commit any offence of a like nature while on bail.

(v) The applicant shall not attempt to contact any of the prosecution witnesses, directly or through any other person, or in any other way try to tamper with the evidence or influence any witnesses or other persons related to the investigation.

(vi) The applicant shall not leave the State of Kerala without the permission of the trial Court.

(vii) The application, if any, for deletion/modification of bail conditions or cancellation of bail on the grounds of violating the bail conditions shall be filed at the jurisdictional court.

Sd/-

DR. KAUSER EDAPPAGATH JUDGE kp APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 13746 OF 2025 PETITIONER ANNEXURES Annexure.A. THE TRUE COPY OF THE FIR REGISTERED BY T