Pre-arrest bail may be granted where no specific overt act is attributed to the accused and custodial interrogation is deemed unnecessary, whereas it may be denied if the accused is directly linked to the receipt of defrauded funds.

BAIL APPL. NO. 3449 OF 2026
CRIME NO.470/2026 OF Nedumangad Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram

THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 03.07.2026, ALONG WITH Bail Appl..3452/2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

BAIL APPL. NO. 3452 OF 2026
CRIME NO.470/2026 OF Nedumangad Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram

THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 03.07.2026, ALONG WITH Bail Appl..3449/2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

ORDER

1. These applications are filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, BNSS), seeking pre-arrest bail.

2. The applicant in B.A.No.3449/2026 is the accused No.3 and the applicant in B.A.No.3452/2026 is the accused No.1 in Crime No. 470/2026 of Nedumangadu Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 316(2) and 318(4) r/w 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the accused Nos.1 to 4, in furtherance of their common intention, joined together to deceive and cheat the de facto complainant and offered huge profits for depositing money in the business of luxurious vehicle transit policy. On believing the words of the accused persons, a total amount of Rs.70,00,000/-was entrusted to the accused Nos. 1 and 2 on 23.08.2024 and 30.12.2024, respectively. However, the accused persons neither paid any interest nor returned the deposit, thus cheated the de facto complainant and thereby committed the offences.

4. I have heard Sri. Vishak Johnson, the learned counsel for the applicants and Sri. Thomas Sabu Vadakekut and Smt. Sareena George P., the learned Public Prosecutors. Perused the case diary.

5. The learned counsel for the applicants submitted that the applicants are innocent and has been falsely implicated in the above crime. The counsel further submitted that no materials are on record to connect the applicants with the alleged crime; hence, they are entitled to bail. The learned Public Prosecutors, on the other hand, submitted that the alleged incident occurred as part of the applicants' intentional criminal acts, and if they are released on bail at this stage, it will affect the course of the investigation.

6. I went through the FIS. Specific overt act has been attributed against the accused No.1/the applicant in B.A.No.3452/2026. He has received ₹35,00,000/- from the defacto complainant. Hence, I am of the view that his custodial interrogation is necessary and he cannot be granted pre-arrest bail. So far as the accused No.3/the applicant in B.A.No.3449/2026 is concerned, no specific overt act has been attributed against him. He is the employee of the accused No.2. Considering the allegations made against the accused No.3, his custodial interrogation seems unnecessary. For these reasons, the accused No.3 can be granted pre-arrest bail.

In the result, B.A.No.3452/2026 is dismissed and B.A.No.3449/2026 is allowed on the following conditions:-

(i) The accused No.3 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 accused No.3 shall fully cooperate with the investigation, including subjecting himself to the deemed police custody for discovery, if any, as and when demanded.

(iii) The accused No.3 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 accused No.3 shall not commit any offence of a like nature while on bail.

(v) The accused No.3 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