Pre-arrest bail is not granted as a matter of course and requires a special case to be established; where allegations of serious sexual assault involve a vulnerable person and the investigation is at a preliminary stage, custodial investigation is deemed necessary, justifying the refusal of bail.

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 sole accused in Crime No.174/2026 of Aryanad Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 115(2) and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Section 92 of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is as follows:- The applicant, who got acquainted with the victim knowing that the victim is a differently-abled person, took the victim to an unoccupied house and sexually exploited him. It is alleged that, the applicant, on several occasions, after forcefully giving Ganja filled beedi, cigarettes, beer and other narcotic substances to the victim, sexually exploited him and threatened him with fear of death.

4. I have heard Sri.Hilal Babu, 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 present case. 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 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. I went through the FI Statement.

There is serious allegation of sexual assault.

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.