The court determines bail eligibility based on lack of evidence, absence of criminal history, and cooperation with investigations.

ORDER

This application is filed underSection 482of theBharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023(for short, BNSS ), seeking pre- arrest bail.

2. The applicant is the accused No.2 in Crime No.1506/2025 of Kallambalam Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 78, 329(3) and 351(2) read with Section 3 (5) of the BNS and Sections 3 and 17 of the Kerala Money Lenders Act, 1958 .

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the mother of the defacto complainant had borrowed some money from the applicant and the same was repaid. The applicant along with other accused with a common intention to have unlawful enrichment were repeatedly demanding exorbitant interest for the money borrowed. On 14.12.2025, the applicant along with other co-accused visited the residence of Vishnu at Kollam with whom the marriage of the defacto complainant was fixed, made false comment defaming the family members of the defacto complainant, threatened them that if they proceed with the alliance they will attack the above said Vishnu and cause hindrance during the marriage. The accused had also threatened the defacto complainant and her family members that if they failed to satisfy their demand for exorbitant interest, they will do the needful to break up the alliance of the defacto complainant with the Vishnu. Thereafter, Vishnu withdrew from his proposal to marry the defacto complainant and due to the mental agony she attempted to commit suicide by consuming high quantity of tablets prescribed for illness and thereby committed the offences.

4. I have heard Sri.Latheesh Sebastian, the learned counsel for the applicant and Sri.K.A. Noushad, 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 above crime. The counsel further submitted that no materials are on record to connect the applicant with the alleged crime; hence, she 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 she is released on bail at this stage, it will affect the course of the investigation.

6. The only non-bailable offences are under Sections 3 and 7 of the Kerala Money Lenders Act. Going by the allegations raised, it is doubtful whether those offences would be attracted. The applicant has no criminal antecedents. Considering the allegations made against the applicant, her custodial interrogation seems unnecessary. For these reasons, I find this to be an appropriate case to grant pre-arrest bail to the applicant.

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

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

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

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

(v) The applicant 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 relate