The court grants pre-arrest bail based on lack of evidence linking the applicant to the alleged violent incident, even with prior criminal history.

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.3 in Crime No.57/2026 of Kattakada Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 189 (2), 191(2), 296(b), 115(2), 118(1), 118(2) and 324(4)

read with Section 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is as follows: On

20.01.2026, at around 10:00 p.m., the accused persons formed themselves into an unlawful assembly and in prosecution of their common object, called the de-facto complainant and his friends to a place near S.B.I situated at Thoongampara, and when they reached there, a verbal altercation occurred between the de-facto complainant and the applicant. At that time, the accused No.4 uttered obscene words against the de-facto complainant and caught hold of his shirt, and accused No.1 by using a spatula had beaten the de-facto complainant on his left hand, causing fracture to his left wrist. When accused No.1 swung the spatula, it hit on the head of the de-facto complainant’s friend Ratheesh causing injuries to him. The accused No.2 by using a reaper, beat the de-facto complainant on his back and the accused No.4 pushed the de-facto complainant. It is further alleged that when the applicant pelted stones, it fell upon the nose of one Gokul, the friend of the de-facto complainant, causing fracture to that part. The window glass of the car of the de- facto complainant was damaged in the incident and thus the de-facto complainant sustained a loss of Rs.15,000/- and thereby committed the offences.

4. I have heard Sri.Vishnu Bhuvanendran, the learned counsel for the applicant and Smt.V.Sreeja, 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. I went through the FI Statement. Though it is alleged that the applicant is behind the entire incident, there is no overt act against the applicant. He has not used any weapon. That apart, Annexure-IV FIR shows that, in respect of the very same incident, another case was registered against the defacto complainant at the instance of accused No.1. The said FIR was registered on 21.01.2026 for the offences punishable under Sections 296 (b), 115(2), 118(2) and 110 read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, whereas, the FIR in the above crime was registered only after a day, i.e., on 22.01.2026. In these circumstances, I am of the view that even though the applicant has criminal antecedents, he can be granted pre-

arrest bail.

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