The Court granted pre-arrest bail where the applicant had no prior criminal antecedents and the First Information Statement contained no specific allegations linking the individual to the principal offence, rendering custodial interrogation unnecessary.

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.2 in Crime No.173/2026 of Pothencode Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 118(1) and 110 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that, on

21.03.2026 at 01:00 a.m., while the de facto complainant was standing at Vavarayambalam junction to see the procession, he interfered in a scuffle, in which the accused was an active member. Due to that animosity, the accused persons approached the de facto complainant and his friend, the applicant restrained the de facto complainant and the accused No.1 stabbed on the stomach of the de facto complainant with a sharp edged weapon. The de facto complainant warded the same with his hands, otherwise his death would have been caused and thereby committed the aforesaid offences.

4. I have heard Sri. Prdthviraj M.R., 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, 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 FIS. There is absolutely no allegation against the applicant in the FIS. The main allegation is against the accused No.1. The applicant has no criminal antecedents. The accused No.1 has already been arrested. 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.