The court allowed pre-arrest bail based on insufficient evidence connecting the accused to the offense and deemed custodial interrogation unnecessary.

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 in Occurrence Report No.222/2025 of Kottayam Excise Range Office, Kottayam District. The offence alleged is punishable under Section 55 (i)

of the Kerala Abkari Act .

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the applicant conducted sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) of 500 ml at Choolakavala - Paruthumpara road in Panachikkadu Village, at 8.00 p.m. on 01.11.2025, which was a dry day.

4. I have heard Sri.Binoy Vasudevan, 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 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 quantity involved is only 500 ml of IMFL. As per the provisions of the Kerala Abkari Act and Rules, the applicant is entitled to possess 3 litres of IMFL for his personal use. It is true that the prosecution alleges that the applicant was in possession of IMFL for the purpose of sale. It is a matter of evidence. The investigation is almost over. The recovery has been effected. Considering the allegations made against the applicant, his custodial interrogation seems unnecessary. 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 officer/investigating officer, 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 officer between 10.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. every Saturday until further orders. He shall also appear before the investigating officer 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/-

DR. KAUSER EDAPPAGATH JUDGE

SKP

APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 13996 OF 2025 PETITIONER’S ANNEXURES:

Annexure A TRUE COPY OF THE CRIME AND OCCURRENCE REPORT IN OCCURRENCE NO.222 OF 2025 OF EXCISE RANGE, KOTTAYAM Annexure B TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 14.11.2025 IN CRL.M.C.NO.1499 OF 2025 BY THE LEARNED ADDITIONAL SESSIONS JUDGE KOTTAYAM RESPONDENTS' ANNEXURES: NIL TRUE COPY P.A. TO JUDGE