The court found that custodial interrogation was unnecessary and granted pre-arrest bail under specified conditions.

ORDER

This application is filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, BNSS ), seeking pre-arrest bail.

2. The applicants are the accused Nos.1 to 4 in Crime No.2532/2025 of Kottarakkara Police Station, Kollam District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 3 2 (c), 115(2), 118(1), 117(2), 351(2), 324(4) read with Section 3 (5)

of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that due to previous animosity against the informant, with intention to cause physical harm to him, on 02.11.2025, the applicants trespassed into the painting workshop being run by the informant in two motor cycles and the applicant No.2 caught hold on the shirt of the informant and the applicant No.1 caused fracture on his nose by hitting him. They beat on his head and face causing pain. When he tried to escape, applicant Nos.3 and 4 came to the workshop and the applicant No.3 beat him with a stick on his ankle causing pain. Applicant Nos.1, 2 and 4 stamped him causing pain, when he fell on the ground and threatened, Savio and Bineesh tried to intercept them. The applicant No.3 fisted on his head with a fiber glass taken from the adjacent shop of one Manoj. Rs.45,000/ - fell down from his pocket was taken by applicant Nos.2 and 3 and the applicant No.1 beat him on his head with a helmet and thereby committed the above offences.

4. I have heard Sri.A.R.Dileep, the learned counsel for the applicants and Smt.Sreeja V., the learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.

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

6. The only non-bailable offence alleged is under Section 118 (1). The allegation in the FIS is that, applicant No.1 fisted on the nose of the defacto complainant and he sustained nasal bone fracture. Hence, there is no allegation that any weapon has been used by the applicant No.1 for causing fracture. The applicants have no criminal antecedents. Considering the allegations made against the applicants, their custodial interrogation seems unnecessary. For these reasons, I find this to be an appropriate case to grant pre-arrest bail to the applicants.

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

(i) The applicants shall be released on bail in the event of their arrest on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One lakh only) each 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 applicants shall fully cooperate with the investigation, including subjecting themselves to the deemed police custody for discovery, if any, as and when demanded.

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

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

(v) The applicants 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 applicants shal