Pre-arrest bail is denied due to the seriousness of the charges and the risk of influencing the 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 sole accused in Crime No.

2576/2025 of Pala Police Station, Kottayam District. The offence alleged is punishable under Section 74 of the BNS, 2023.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that while the defacto complainant was going to her office, the Techoiline Technology Consultants, situated at the 2^nd floor of the Joseph Arcade Chethimattam, for her employment at 09.00 a.m. on 22.2.2025 in the lift, the applicant outraged her modesty by patting her stomach, groped her right breast and thereby committed the offence.

4. I have heard Sri.Manuel Kachiramattam, the learned counsel for the applicant and Smt.Sreeja V., 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 is a security guard at the building complex. In the incident that occurred in the lift, specific overt act has been alleged against the applicant. The allegation is that while the lift was moving, he caught hold of the breast of the victim.

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/-