Pre-arrest bail may be denied if evidence indicates serious charges and potential interference with the investigation.

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 in Crime No.52/2023 of Cyber Crime Police Station, Palakkad District. The offences alleged are punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000 .

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that during the period from 29.09.2023 to 07.10.2023, the applicant, with an intention to cheat the defacto complainant, contacted him through WhatsApp and Telegram, offered an online job for MOZ Company and to earn profit, and the defacto complainant invested amounts for the job as directed by the applicant. After that, the applicant has neither given the profit nor returned the invested amount. Hence, the defacto complainant lost Rs.16,60,850/- (Rupees Sixteen Lakhs Sixty Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty only).

4. I have heard the applicant, who appeared in person, and Smt.Sreeja V., the learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.

5. The applicant submitted that he is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. He further submitted that no materials are on record to connect him 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 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. The investigation reveals that the defacto complainant lost a sum of Rs.16,60,850/- through online cyber fraud, out of which, Rs.1,60,000/- was transferred to the account of the applicant on

05.12.2023.

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 Senior 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. 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.

Sd/-