IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
DR. KAUSER EDAPPAGATH, J
ABDUL KUDDUS – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF KERALA – Respondent
Based on the provided legal document, the key points are as follows:
The bail application was filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) concerning the applicants, who are accused Nos. 2 and 3 in Crime No.1397/2025, involving offenses under the NDPS Act, 1985, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (!) (!) (!) .
The prosecution case involves the seizure of approximately 44.643 kilograms of ganja from a vehicle, with the applicants alleged to be involved in the commission of these offenses (!) (!) .
The applicants have been in custody since 28.09.2025. Their counsel argued that the grounds of arrest were not communicated to them in accordance with legal requirements, while the Public Prosecutor contended that the grounds were duly communicated (!) .
The court examined whether the arrest was legal, emphasizing that the communication of grounds of arrest to the arrestee and their relatives is a mandatory legal requirement. It was found that although the grounds of arrest were communicated to the applicants, they were not communicated to their relatives, rendering the arrest illegal [Para 7,8] (!) .
The court held that failure to communicate the grounds of arrest to the relatives invalidates the arrest, making the applicants entitled to bail [Para 8].
The court granted bail on specific conditions, including executing a bond of Rs.1,00,000/- with two solvent sureties, cooperation with investigation, regular appearance before the investigating officer, abstaining from committing similar offenses, avoiding contact with prosecution witnesses, not leaving Kerala without permission, and adhering to bail conditions [p_11–p_19].
The applicants are instructed to appear before the investigating officer on Saturdays between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., and to comply with all other bail conditions to ensure their continued liberty (!) .
Any application for modification or cancellation of bail conditions due to violations must be filed in the appropriate court (!) .
These points summarize the court’s reasoning and the resultant bail conditions based on the illegality of the arrest due to non-communication of grounds to the relatives.
ORDER
This application is filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita , 2023 (for short, BNSS ), seeking regular bail.
2. The applicants are the accused Nos. 2 and 3 in Crime No.1397/2025 of Kalady Police Station, Ernakulam District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C), 8(c) and 29 of the NDPS Act , 1985 and Sections
336(3) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
3. The prosecution case, in short, is that on
27.09.2025, at about 10.40 a.m., upon receiving information, the police allegedly seized 44.643 kilograms of ganja from a Chevrolet car bearing registration No. KL-24-G-7848, suspected to be a fake number plate. It is alleged that the applicants, who were travelling in the said vehicle along with the accused No.1 on the Manjapra–Kuzhiyampadam public road, were thereby involved in the commission of the offences mentioned above.
4. I have heard Sri. Shahanas Salma Abbas, the learned counsel for the applicants and Sri. U. Jayakrishnan, the learned Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary. 5. The learned counsel for the applicants submitted that the applicants have been in custody since 28.09.2025 and the grounds of arrest
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