The court emphasized the seriousness of charges in pre-arrest bail considerations, underscoring the necessity for custodial interrogation in sexual assault cases.

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 sole accused in Crime No.767/2025 of Kurathikadu Police Station, Alappuzha District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 332 (b), 75, 76, 65(2) and 64(2)(m) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita , 2023, and Sections 4 r/w 3 (a), 6 r/w 5(l), 5(m) & 8 r/w 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act , 2012 (PoCSO Act).

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the applicant and the father of the victim are friends. On 11.10.2025, around noon, the applicant went to the house where the victim was living and took her to a room and committed penetrative sexual assault on her. Thus, the applicant committed the offences alleged.

4. I have heard Sri.P.Thomas Geevarghese, the learned counsel for the applicant and Sri.M.C. Ashi, 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 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. This is a case where a 7-year-old girl was brutally sexually assaulted by a 27-year-old man. The wound certificate confirms the penetrative sexual assault.

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.

8. 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.