The court grants pre-arrest bail while imposing stringent conditions, balancing the rights of the accused and the integrity of ongoing investigations.

O R D E R

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.6 in Crime No.1296/2025 of Koothattukulam Police Station, Ernakulam District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 316 (2) and 318(4) read with Section 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita , 2023.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the defacto complainant is the Senior Manager of Canara Bank, Koothattukulam branch. Accused No.1 is the gold appraiser of the bank. Accused No.1, in furtherance of the common intention of accused Nos.2 to 7, during the period from 19.07.2025 to 02.09.2025, has pledged spurious gold ornaments of 431.6 grams on several occasions in the name of accused Nos.2 to 7 and obtained a loan of ₹29,31,000/-. Accused Nos.2 to 7 brought spurious gold ornaments and accused No.1, who has knowledge of the same, certified that they are real gold and availed loan in the name of accused Nos.2 to 7. Accused Nos.1 to 7 deceived the Canara Bank. Thus, the applicant has committed the aforementioned offences.

4. I have heard Sri.Augustus Binu, the learned counsel for the applicant and Smt.Sreeja V., 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, 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 applicant is the person who pledged spurious gold ornaments in the bank. Thus, there is prima facie material against him to show his involvement in the crime. However, it is submitted by the learned counsel for the applicant that the applicant had repaid the entire loan amount and there is no due. Annexure A2 receipt also would substantiate this. In these circumstances, I am of the view that the custodial interrogation of the applicant is not necessary. 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 his 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 ofÏcer/investigating ofÏcer, as the case may be.

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

(iii) The applicant shall appear before the investigating ofÏcer between 10.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. every Saturday until further orders. He shall also appear before the investigating ofÏcer 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 related to the investigation.

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

(vii) 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.

Sd/-