The court can grant pre-arrest bail subject to conditions if the accused's presence is required for investigation and insufficient evidence exists to connect them to the alleged crime.

ORDER

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

2. The applicant is the accused No.1 in Crime No.27/2017 of Alappuzha North Police Station, Alappuzha District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 465 , 471 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code .

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the applicant and the co-accused had cheated the de facto complainant and her husband, obtained a sum of Rs.48 Lakhs from them, by forging a title deed in favour of her and also forged a land tax receipt.

4. I have heard Sri. Manu Harshakumar, 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 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 applicant is, at present, at Bahrain. The learned Counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant would be coming to Kerala on 20^th February, 2026. Even though the incident had taken place in the year 2015, the crime was registered in the year 2017. The learned Senior Public Prosecutor, on instructions, submits that the investigation could not be completed due to the absence of the applicant. It is further submitted that, since the allegation of forgery is involved, the presence of the applicant is necessary for the purpose of interrogation and also for taking her finger prints, etc. Considering the entire facts and circumstances, I am of the view that the applicant should be given the benefit of pre-arrest bail, subject to the condition of limited custody to the investigating officer as contemplated in the decision of the Supreme Court in Sushila Aggarwal and Others v. State (NCT of Delhi) and Another [ (2020) 5 SCC 1 ].

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

(i) The applicant shall appear before the investigating officer on 22.02.2026 at 10:00 a.m. for interrogation.

(ii) The applicant can be interrogated for the next two days from 10:00 a.m. to 04:00 p.m., if required, after giving adequate intervals.

(iii) The applicant shall be deemed to be under custody during the aforesaid period for facilitating the requirement of investigation.

(iv) If the investigating officer intends to arrest the applicant, then she shall be released on bail on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One lakh only) with two solvent sureties for the like sum each before the investigating officer.

(v) The applicant shall fully cooperate with the investigation, including subjecting herself to the deemed police custody for discovery, if any, as and when demanded.

(vi) 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.

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

(viii) 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 related to the investigation.

(ix) The applicant shall not leave the State of Kerala without the permission of the trial Court.

(x) The application, if any, for deletion/modification of bail conditions or cancellation of bail on the grounds of violating the bail conditions shall be filed at the jurisdictional court.