Pre-arrest bail may be granted when no specific overt act is attributed to the accused in the FIR and custodial interrogation is deemed unnecessary due to a lack of criminal antecedents and limited involvement.

ORDER

This application is filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya

Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, BNSS), seeking pre-

arrest bail.

2. The applicants are the accused Nos.7 to 10 in Crime

No.285/2026 of Ernakulam Town North Police Station,

Ernakulam District. The offences alleged are punishable under

Sections 74 , 75(1)(i), 75(1)(ii), 76, 79, 126(2), 324(4) and

115(2) r/w 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

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

02.06.2026, at about 4:34 a.m., while the de facto complainant

and her female friend were walking along Chakkalapadam Road,

Kaloor, accused Nos.1 to 11, with an intention of outraging their

modesty and sexually harassing them, the accused No.1 made

an indecent gesture of kissing her female friend. When they

questioned his conduct, he moved close to them and attempted

to touch her friend’s chest. When she began recording the

incident, the accused No.1 snatched her mobile phone, threw it

to the ground, and damaged it. He also pulled and tore her

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clothes and attempted to touch her breasts. Accused Nos.2 to

11 mocked and laughed at them. When the de facto

complainant again attempted to record the incident, the

accused No.1 grabbed her by the neck, pushed to the ground,

caught hold of hair, dragged her along the ground, and

repeatedly kicked her on the chest and abdomen, causing her

pain and injuries. Thus, the accused caused humiliation, mental

agony, and loss of dignity to them and thereby committed the

offences.

4. I have heard Sri.Shabu Sreedharan, the learned

counsel for the applicants and Smt.Aneeda Beegum, the

learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.

5. The learned counsel for the applicants submitted that

the applicants are innocent and have 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 get bail. The learned

Senior Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, submitted that the

alleged incident occurred as a part of the intentional criminal

acts of the applicants, and if they are released on bail at this

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stage, it will affect the course of the investigation.

6. No specific overt act has been attributed against the

applicants in the FI Statement. The main allegation is against

the accused No.1. The only allegation against the applicants is

that they were present when the accused No.1 allegedly

molested and assaulted the de facto complainant. The

applicants are students. They have no criminal antecedents.

Considering the allegations made against the applicants, their

custodial interrogation seems unnecessary. For these reasons, I

find this to be an appropriate case to grant pre-arrest bail to

the applicants.

In the result, the application is allowed on the following

conditions:-

(i) The applicants shall be released on bail in the event

of their arrest on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees

One lakh only) each 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 applicants shall fully cooperate with the

investigation, including subjecting themselves to the deemed

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police custody for discovery, if any, as and when demanded.

(iii) The applicants shall appear before the investigating

officer between 10.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. every Saturday until

further orders. They shall also appear before the investigating

officer as and when required.

(iv) The applicants shall not commit any offence of a like

nature while on bail.

(v) The applicants 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) T