IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
Bail Appl No. 4151 of 2007()
1. BHAKTAVALSALAN,
... Petitioner
Vs
1. STATE OF KERALA,
... Respondent
For Petitioner :SRI.S.RAJEEV
For Respondent :PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
The Hon'ble MR. Justice R.BASANT
Dated :10/07/2007
O R D E R
R.BASANT, J.
----------------------
B.A.No.4151 of 2007
----------------------------------------
Dated this the 10th day of July 2007
O R D E R
Application for regular bail. The petitioner is the first
accused. Altogether there are six accused persons. The injured
is a known NDF worker, it is submitted. The petitioner and the
co-accused owe allegiance to the R.S.S. The alleged incident
took place on 21/3/2007. There was communal tension in the
locality. The accused persons had allegedly entered into a
conspiracy to assault and liquidate the defacto complainant, the
driver of an autorickshaw, who was a known NDF activist. The
autorickshaw of the defacto complainant was hired by one of the
conspirators and while the autorickshaw was proceeding with
the said person as a passenger, four accused persons in two
motor bikes allegedly zeroed in, on the autorickshaw and
unleashed a brutal attack with dangerous weapons against the
autorickshaw driver/injured. In the F.I.R, name of the petitioner
is shown as the first accused. That was done on the basis of the
statement of the injured person to the defacto complainant that
B.A.No.4151/07 2
he had seen the petitioner talking to the person who hired the
autorickshaw immediately prior to such engagement.
Investigation is in progress. The petitioner was arrested on
21/6/2007. He continues in custody from that date.
2. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
the petitioner is absolutely innocent. On the basis of the
improbable statement that the petitioner was seen talking to the
person who hired the autorickshaw, he has unnecessarily been
arrayed as accused. No overt act, whatsoever has been alleged
against the petitioner. The petitioner has been continuing in
custody from 21/6/2007. He may now be enlarged on bail,
subject to any appropriate terms, submits the learned counsel for
the petitioner.
3. The learned Public Prosecutor opposes the
application. The allegations are serious. Communal violence
had taken place in the locality. Any right thinking member of the
polity is bound to take such grave allegations seriously. The co-
accused have not been apprehended at all. The weapons have
not been recovered. The petitioner is an important activist of the
R.S.S in the locality. Available indications point to his dominant
role as one of the conspirators. In any view of the matter it is too
B.A.No.4151/07 3
early to consider the release of the petitioner on bail. In a
serious crime like this, the investigators may be granted
sufficient time to complete the investigation after the arrest of
the accused. The petitioner may not be granted regular bail at
this stage, submits the learned Public Prosecutor.
4. I find merit in the opposition by the learned Public
Prosecutor. At this early stage of investigation, I shall
scrupulously avoid any detailed discussion on merits about the
acceptability of the allegations or the credibility of the data
collected. Suffice it to say that I have taken note of all the
relevant inputs including the nature and gravity of the
allegations raised against the accused, the nature of the alleged
role played by the petitioner, the quantum and quality of the
materials that have been collected so far, the stage of the
investigation and the possible deleterious impact which the
release of the petitioner on bail at this early stage of the
investigation would leave behind in the law and order situation
in general and the investigation in this crime in particular. The
petitioner, I hold, is not entitled to be released on bail at this
stage.
B.A.No.4151/07 4
5. I shall carefully avoid any detailed discussions on
merits about the acceptability of the allegations or the credibility
of the data collected. Suffice it to say that on an anxious
consideration of all the relevant inputs including the nature and
gravity of the allegations, stage of investigation etc., I am not
persuaded to grant regular bail to the petitioners at this early
stage. Investigators in a serious crime like this are certainly
entitled to further time to complete the investigation.
5. In the result, this petition is dismissed. However, I
may hasten to observe that the petitioner shall be at liberty to
move this court or the Sessions court for bail again at a later
stage of the investigation not, at any rate, prior to 24/07/2007.
The investigating officer shall, in the meantime, make every
endeavour to complete the investigation.
(R.BASANT, JUDGE)
jsr
B.A.No.4151/07 5
B.A.No.4151/07 6
R.BASANT, J.
CRL.M.CNo.
ORDER
21ST DAY OF MAY2007