Kerala High Court Grants Bail To Two Accused Who Allegedly Assaulted A Female Advocate Commissioner
The Kerala High Court has granted bail to two men who were accused of assaulting a female Advocate Commissioner.
A Single Bench of Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. said, “… after taking into account all relevant aspects, including the fact that the petitioners have been under judicial custody since 12.04.2023, I am inclined to grant bail to the petitioners subject to appropriate conditions to ensure that they are not influencing the witnesses. This is mainly because, taking note of the period of detention undergone by the petitioners and the stage of the investigation, further incarceration of the petitioners appear to be not necessary.”
The Bench noted that the allegations against the accused are serious in nature but the fact remains that they have been in custody since April month onwards.
Advocates Saijo Hassan and Rajalakshmi R. appeared on behalf of the petitioners i.e., the accused while Senior PP Seetha S. appeared on behalf of the respondent i.e., the State.
In this case, a bail application was filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking regular bail. The offences alleged against the petitioners and other accused were under Sections 294(b), 323, 324, 353, 354, and 506(i), read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and as per the prosecution case, in furtherance of the common intention, the accused persons wrongfully restrained the Advocate Commissioner, deputed by the Munsiff's Court, Varkala to execute an order while she came for local inspection.
It was alleged that the accused uttered obscene words against the said woman, the accompanying Advocate Clerk, and the defacto complainant, and it was also alleged that the accused persons assaulted them and on account of such attack, serious injuries were sustained by the defacto complainant. The crime was registered in such circumstances and as part of the investigation, the petitioners were arrested and since then have been under judicial detention.
The High Court in view of the above facts observed, “Now about 50 days have elapsed since the date of arrest. There is substantial progress in the investigation. The learned Public Prosecutor indeed points out that the petitioners are having criminal antecedents as the 1st petitioner is involved in two other cases, whereas the 2nd petitioner is accused in a CBI case. In response to the aforesaid submission, the learned counsel for the petitioners points out that as regards the CBI case, the 2nd petitioner is already acquitted as per the judgment dated 25.05.2023 passed in S.C. No.243/2016 by the Special Judge, SB/CBI, Thiruvananthapuram.”
Accordingly, the Court granted bail to the petitioners on executing a bond of Rs. 1 lakh.
Cause Title- Sanu & Anr. v. State of Kerala (Neutral Citation: 2023:KER:29311)
