The court adjudicated that pre-arrest bail requires specific circumstances; it dismissed the application due to the serious nature of allegations and risk to the investigation.

ORDER

Dated this the 02^nd day of February, 2026

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 and 2 in Crime No.274/2025 of Ranni Excise Range Office, Pathanamthitta District. The offences alleged are punishable under Section 55 (i) of theKerala Abkari Actand Section 6(b) of the Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that on 01.11.2025, at about 01:00 p.m., the Excise Inspector and party had detected 140.5 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and 5 kg of prohibited tobacco products, as, having been stored for sale by the applicants, inside a room in a residential building bearing No.V/305 situated at Kollamula near Little Flower School junction.

4. I have heard Sri. P.Mohamed Sabah, the learned counsel for the applicants and Sri. M.C.Ashi, 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 present case. The counsel further submitted that no materials are on record to connect the applicants with the alleged crime; hence, they are entitled to bail. The learned Senior Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, submitted that the alleged incident occurred as part of the applicants' intentional criminal acts, and if they are 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 applicants is very serious in nature, and it prima facie shows a premeditated criminal act on their part. The quantity involved is a huge one. The applicants ran from the site seeing the Excise party. Moreover, the applicants have criminal antecedents.

7. The investigation is in a preliminary stage. The custodial interrogation of the applicants is necessary for the investigation. As rightly argued by the learned Senior Public Prosecutor, the possibility of the applicants influencing the witnesses and interfering with the investigation cannot be ruled out if they are 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.