Pre-arrest bail is not granted if there's a risk of interference with an investigation and if the allegations are serious.

ORDER

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

2. The applicants are the accused Nos.2 and 3 in Crime No.1567/2025 of Thampanoor Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District. The offence alleged is punishable under Section 318 (4) r/w Section 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the accused, with a common intention to deceive the de facto complainant and with a view to unlawful enrichment, offered to arrange an employment visa for the de facto complainant to work in Hungary and thereby caused her to deliver a total sum of Rs.12,50,000/- through bank transfer as well as in cash. After receiving the amount, the accused did not arrange the visa as agreed and thereby cheated the de facto complainant. Thus, the applicants committed the offence as alleged.

4. I have heard Sri.Latheesh Sebastian, the learned counsel for the applicants and Sri.K.A.Noushad, the learned 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 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 prearrest 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 applicants had admitted that they received Rs. 12,50,000/- from the de facto complainant. Even though they made arrangements for procuring a visa for the de facto complainant and forwarded the necessary documents to the email account of the de facto complainant, the visa has not yet been issued.

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 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.

8. However, if the applicants surrender before the Investigating Officer within seven days from today, the Investigating Officer shall interrogate them and, after interrogation, if the Investigating Officer is of the opinion that they have to be arrested, after recording the arrest, they shall be produced before the jurisdictional Magistrate on the same day itself. The application for bail, if any, filed by them shall be disposed of by the learned Magistrate on the same day itself as far as possible.

The bail application is dismissed with the above observation.