Pre-arrest bail is not a matter of course; it is contingent on the nature of the accusations and necessity for investigation.

O R D E R

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

arrest bail.

2. The applicant is the accused No.3 in Crime No.

1851/2025 of Gandhi Nagar Police Station, Kottayam District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 127(2), 118(1), 115(2), 296(b), 351(2) and 309(4) read with Section 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that on 13.12.2025 at about 08.15. p.m., while the informant was riding his motorcycle along the Puvathummoodu-Samkranthi road and reached near the turning towards Nattasseri, the accused Nos.1 to 3, waylaid him in furtherance of their common intention to commit theft and robbery, then the accused blocked the motorbike of the informant with their TVS Appache bike and then the accused No.1 made the informant to sit in the pillion of the bike and took him to places at Perumbaikkadu Village and the portion of the Panchayat Road situated at Sooryakaladimana Chathukulam Road and then accused Nos.2 and 3, who came there in another bike, alighted from their bike and the applicant hit on the back of the informant with a helmet, the accused No.2 kicked him down, then the accused persons committed theft and robbery of a gold finger ring worn by the informant, an Apple iPhone worth Rs.30,000/-, brutally assaulted him, threatened to kill him and thereby committed the offences.

4. I have heard Sri.P.Mohamed Sabah, the learned counsel for the applicant and Sri.M.C.Ashi, 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 bail. The learned Senior Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, submitted that the alleged incident occurred as part of the applicant's intentional criminal acts, and if he is released on bail at this stage, it will affect the course of the investigation.

6. The law regarding the grant or refusal of pre-arrest bail is well settled. Pre-arrest bail cannot be granted as a matter of course. The power under Section 482 of BNSS could be exercised only when a special case is made out, that too, recording reasons thereof. Perusal of the case diary reveals that the accusation made against the applicant is very serious in nature, and it prima facie shows a premeditated criminal act on his part. The applicant has strong criminal antecedents.

7. The investigation is in a preliminary stage. The custodial interrogation of the applicant is necessary for the investigation. As rightly argued by the learned Public Prosecutor, the possibility of the applicant influencing the witnesses and interfering with the investigation cannot be ruled out if he is released on bail.

Considering the gravity of the offence and stage of the investigation, I am of the view that this is not a fit case where the extraordinary jurisdiction vested with this Court under Section 482 of BNSS could be invoked. The bail application is, accordingly, dismissed.

Sd/-