Regular bail may be granted when the investigation is substantially complete, the accused's continued detention is not necessary for trial purposes, and the court is satisfied that the accused will comply with stringent bail conditions.

ORDER

This application is filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, BNSS), seeking regular bail.

2. The applicant is the accused No.1 in Crime No.399/2026 of Kannur Town Police Station, Kannur District. The offence alleged is punishable under Section 420 r/w Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, IPC).

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the applicant acting as the Managing Director of “The Malabar Multi- State Agro Co-operative Society Limited,” induced the defacto complainant to deposit funds by promising high interest rates and claiming to possess valid government licenses. It is further alleged that between July 3, 2021, and October 22, 2023, the applicant collected Rs.19,74,000/- and failed to return the principal or the interest and thereby committed the above offence.

4. I have heard Sri.G. Hariharan, 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 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. On the other hand, the learned Public Prosecutor submitted that the alleged incident occurred as a part of the intentional criminal acts of the applicant, and he is not entitled to bail at this stage.

6. The applicant has been in custody in connection with a connected crime since 13.03.2026. His formal arrest in this crime was recorded on 08.05.2026. The applicant, being one of the Directors of the company, has not personally received any amount from the de facto complainant. The investigation is almost over. For these reasons, I do not find any reason to hold that the continued detention of the applicant is required for any purpose.

Hence, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail.

In the result, the application is allowed on the following conditions: -

(i) The applicant shall be released on bail 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 jurisdictional Magistrate/Court.

(ii) The applicant shall fully co-operate with the investigation.

(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 the bail conditions or cancellation of bail on the grounds of violating the bail conditions shall be filed at the jurisdictional court.