Hari Kumar vs State of Kerala - Court Judgment

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE KAUSER EDAPPAGATH TUESDAY, THE 27TH DAY OF APRIL 2021 / 7TH VAISAKHA, 1943 Bail Appl.No.2923 OF 2021 CRIME NO.14/2021 OF VARAPPUZHA EXCISE RANGE OFFICE, ERNAKULAM PETITIONER/ACCUSED: HARI KUMAR, AGED 42 YEARS, BHAKTHIVILASOM VEEDU, CHIRAYAM KARAYIL, ALANGAD VILLAGE, PARAVUR TALUK, ALANGAD P.O, ERNAKULAM PIN-683511 BY ADV. SRI.C.RAJENDRAN RESPONDENT: 1 STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM, PIN-682031 2 EXCISE INSPECTOR, AGED 45 YEARS, VARAPUZHA RANGE EXCISE INSPECTOR OFFICE, CHETTIBHAGAM MAIN ROAD, VARAPUZHA, ERNAKULAM PIN-683517 R1-R2 BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, SMT. SREEJA V THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 27.04.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:

ORDER

Dated this the 27th day of April 2021 This is an application filed u/s 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure seeking regular bail.

2. The petitioner is the accused in Crime No. 14/2021 of Varappuzha Excise Range. The offences alleged are under Sections 55(a) 58 and 55D of the Kerala Abkari Act.

3. The prosecution case in short is that on 28/3/2021, at 12.50 a.m., the petitioner was found in possession of 127.5 litres of arrack in contravention of the Abkari Acts and Rules and thereby committed the offence.

4. Heard both sides and perused the case diary.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the

petitioner is absolutely innocent and he has been falsely implicated in the present case. He further submitted that there are no materials to connect the petitioner with the alleged crime and hence he is entitled to get bail. The learned Public Prosecutor opposed the bail application. He contended that the alleged incident occurred as a part of the intentional criminal acts of the petitioner and if the petitioner is released on bail at this stage, it would affect the course of investigation.

6. Perusal of the case diary would reveal that prima facie there are materials on record to connect the petitioner with the crime. However, the petitioner was remanded to judicial custody on investigation, I do not find any reason to hold that the continued

detention of the petitioner is required for any purpose. The investigation seems to have reached a fair stage. The recovery has already been effected. For all these reasons, the petitioner is entitled to be released on bail on conditions. In the result, the application is allowed on the following conditions:-

(i) The petitioner shall be released on bail on executing a bond for `1,00,000/- (Rupees One lakh only) with two solvent sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Magistrate/Court.

(ii) The petitioner shall fully co-operate with the investigation.

(iii) The petitioner shall appear before the investigating officer

between 10.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m on every Saturday until further orders. The petitioner shall also appear before the investigating officer as and when required by him.

(iv) The petitioner shall not commit any offence of like nature while on bail.

(v) The petitioner shall not make any attempt to contact any of

the prosecution witnesses, directly or through any other person, or any other way try to tamper with the evidence or influence any witnesses or other persons related to the investigation.

(vi) The petitioner shall not leave State of Kerala without the permission of the trial Court. Sd/- DR. KAUSER EDAPPAGATH Rp JUDGE