Pre-arrest bail may be granted when there is an absence of direct evidence linking the accused to the alleged crime and custodial interrogation is deemed unnecessary for the investigation.

ORDER

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.4 in Crime No.248/2026 of Iritty Police Station, Kannur District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 23 , 24 and 8 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the accused No.1, who is a Yemeni citizen continued to remain in India even after the expiry of his visa and passport. It is alleged that he was residing at Kodal House, situated at Kallumutti in Payam Amsom within the jurisdiction of the Iritty Police Station, and was working as a chef at ‘Tasty Hub’ restaurant, owned by the accused No.2. The accused Nos.2 and 3, despite being aware that the accused No.1 was a foreign national and that, his visa and passport had expired, facilitated his unauthorized stay in India. It is alleged that they failed to comply with the mandatory statutory requirements applicable to foreign nationals residing and working in the country, including the submission of C-Form, thereby enabling the accused No.1 to continue his illegal stay in India and thereby committed the offences.

4. I have heard Sri.Jayakumar Namboodiri T.V., the learned counsel for the applicant and Smt. Sreeja V., 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. The applicant has not been named in the FIR. There is no allegation against him also. However, he was subsequently arrayed as an accused on the allegation that he introduced the accused No.1 to the accused No.2. Apart from the said allegation, there is absolutely nothing to connect the applicant with the crime. The applicant has no criminal antecedents. 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 jurisdictio