Pre-arrest bail cannot be granted as a matter of course and depends on serious allegations and the stage of the investigation.

ORDER

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

2. The applicant is the accused No.1 in Crime No.7/2026 of Edakkad Police Station, Kannur District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 126(2), 115(2), 118(1), 74, 296(b) and 351(3) read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that on 01.01.2026 at 09.00 p.m. from the place near to Panchayat well, Ammooparamb, Edakkad, the accused No.2 assaulted the husband of the defacto complainant with hand and bamboo stick. When the defacto complainant intervened, the accused No.2 wrongfully restrained them, assaulted with hand, the applicant caught her breast and tore her maxi. When the local people Rajesh and Shinju intervened, the accused together assaulted them with bamboo stick. The accused No.2 uttered obscene words and the applicant threatened that the husband of the defacto complainant will be killed and thereby committed the offences.

4. I have heard Sri.Aswanth P.T., 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 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. Specific overt act has been alleged against the applicant in the FI statement. The applicant has criminal antecedents. He is involved in eleven other criminal cases.

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.