Pre-arrest bail granted based on lack of evidence and no serious overt act by applicants.

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 applicants are the accused Nos.2, 4 and 8 in Crime No.1676/2025 of Sulthanbathery Police Station, Wayanad District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 126 (2), 118(1), 110, 189(1), 189(2) and 189(4) r/w Section 190 of BNS, 2023. 3. The prosecution case, in short, is that on 13.12.2025 between 15.30 hours and 16.30 hours near the bus stop at 3^rd Mile, accused Nos.1 to 8, who are the active workers of UDF, due to prior enmity arising from the defacto complainant's objection to their setting off crackers at the house of LDF activist Praveenlal, formed an unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapons such as iron rod, and in prosecution of their common object, wrongfully restrained the defacto complainant during his return from Praveenlal's house, and beat on his head and body with the iron rod with the knowledge and intention that if his death was caused by that act, they would be guilty of culpable homicide amounting to murder and thereby voluntarily caused grievous hurt to his head, upper lip, right middle finger, left hand and shoulder and thereby committed the offences.

4. I have heard Sri.Jeswin P.Varghese, 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. On the date of incident, there was a clash between the workers of UDF and ruling political front (LDF). The date of incident was the date of declaration of the result of the local body elections. There was a case and counter case. The counter case has been registered against the defacto complainant and the injured. I went through the FIS. No serious overt act has been alleged against the applicants. The applicants did not use any weapon. The accused No.1 alone used the weapon and he was already arrested and the recovery has been effected. 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