Kerala High Court
Abdul Latheef vs State Of Kerala on 11 March, 2020
Author: Alexander Thomas
Bench: Alexander Thomas
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS
WEDNESDAY, THE 11TH DAY OF MARCH 2020 / 21ST PHALGUNA, 1941
Bail Appl..No.199 OF 2020
CRIME NO.90/2018 OF Kuzhalmannam Police Station , Palakkad
PETITIONER/S:
ABDUL LATHEEF
AGED 35 YEARS
S/O. BASHEER, NOOLIDAMPARA, KUZHALMANNAM, PALAKKAD
DISTRICT.
BY ADVS.
SRI.BABY MATHEW
SRI.P.VIJAYA BHANU (SR.)
RESPONDENT/S:
1 STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, ERNAKULAM-682031.
2 STATION HOUSE OFFICER,
KUZHALMANNAM POLICE STATION, PALAKKAD DISTRICT-
678001.
OTHER PRESENT:
SRI.SAIGI JACOB PALATTY, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
11.03.2020, ALONG WITH Bail Appl..201/2020, Bail Appl..208/2020,
THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS
WEDNESDAY, THE 11TH DAY OF MARCH 2020 / 21ST PHALGUNA, 1941
Bail Appl..No.201 OF 2020
CRIME NO.171/2019 OF Wadakkancherry Police Station , Palakkad
PETITIONER/S:
ABDUL LATHEEF
AGED 35 YEARS
S/O BASHEER, NOOLIDAMPARA, KUZHALMANNAM, PALAKKAD
DISTRICT.
BY ADVS.
SRI.BABY MATHEW
SRI.P.VIJAYA BHANU (SR.)
RESPONDENT/S:
1 STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, ERNAKULAM.
2 STATION HOUSE OFFICER,
VADAKKENCHERY POLICE STATION, PALAKKAD DISTRICT,
3 VICTIM x
ADDL. R3 IMPLEADED AS PER ORDER ON
CRL.M.A.NO.1/2020 ON 11.3.2020.
R3 BY ADV. V.JOHN SEBASTIAN RALPH
R3 BY ADV. SMT.A.AMRUTHA VIDYADHARAN
R3 BY ADV. SMT.F.ANCY
SRI.SAIGI JACOB PALATTY, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
11.03.2020, ALONG WITH Bail Appl..199/2020, Bail Appl..208/2020,
THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS
WEDNESDAY, THE 11TH DAY OF MARCH 2020 / 21ST PHALGUNA, 1941
Bail Appl..No.208 OF 2020
CRIME NO.471/2019 OF Alathur Police Station , Palakkad
PETITIONER/S:
ABDUL LATHEEF
AGED 35 YEARS
S/O.BASHEER, NOOLIDAMPARA, KUZHALMANNAM, PALAKKAD
DISTRICT.
BY ADVS.
SRI.BABY MATHEW
SRI.P.VIJAYA BHANU (SR.)
RESPONDENT/S:
1 STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, ERNAKULAM-682 031.
2 STATION HOUSE OFFICER, ALATHUR POLICE STATION,
PALAKKAD DISTRICT-678 001.
3 VICTIM x
ADDL. R3 IMPLEADED AS PER ORDER ON
CRL.M.A.NO.1/2020 ON 11.3.2020.
R3 BY ADV. V.JOHN SEBASTIAN RALPH
R3 BY ADV. SMT.A.AMRUTHA VIDYADHARAN
R3 BY ADV. ANCY.F
SRI.SAIGI JACOB PALATTY, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
11.03.2020, ALONG WITH Bail Appl..199/2020, Bail Appl..201/2020,
THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:
ALEXANDER THOMAS, J.
==================
B.A.Nos. 199, 201 & 208 of 2020
==================
Dated this the 11th day of March, 2020
ORDER
As the accused in these three anticipatory bail applications is the same person, as the defacto complainant is also the same and as the allegations are interlinked, these cases are disposed of on the basis of this common order.
2. B.A.No.199/2020 arises out of Crime No.90/2018 of Kuzhalmannam Police Station, which has been registered on the basis of the complaint of the lady defacto complainant alleging offences punishable under Sec.367(2)(n) of the I.P.C., Secs.7 & 8 of the POCSO Act, Secs. 66E & 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The allegations in the said crime are to the effect that the applicant accused had sexually abused the lady defacto complainant for a long time since 2013 and he had forcefully obtained her nude photographs & video clippings and blackmailed and intimidated her under the threat of uploading her obscene pictures in social media and subjected her forcible sexual inter course, etc. Further that he had also sexually abused her two minor daughters, aged 14 and 11 years and he had also sent nude photographs of the lady defacto complainant to her husband and her friends causing extreme mental B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 5 :-
agony to her.
3. B.A.No.201/2020 arises out of Crime No.171/2019 of Vadakkencherry Police Station, which has been registered for offences punishable under Sec.354(C) of the I.P.C. and Sec. 67A of the Informational Technology Act, based on the complaint of the abovesaid lady defacto complainant. The allegations in the said crime are to the effect that the applicant accused had obtained nude pictures of the lady defacto complainant and he had also sent nude photographs and clippings to her mobile phone.
4. Whereas B.A.No.208/2020 arises out of Crime No. 471/ 2019 of Alathur Police Station, which has been registered for offences punishable under Secs.195A, 506(i) of the I.P.C. and Secs.66E and 67A of the IT Act, based on the complaint of the abovesaid lady defacto complainant. In the instant the crime, the allegations are to the effect that the applicant accused had obtained nude pictures and video clippings of the defacto complainant and had sent her nude photographs and video clippings to the mobile of the defacto complainant and other persons.
5. It is now reported that, pursuant to the directions issued by the District Police chief concerned, the investigations in all these B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 6 :-
cases have now been entrusted to the Inspector of Police, Kuzhalmannam, as the allegations in these separate crimes registered in the different Police Stations are inter linked.
6. Heard Sri.P.Vijaya Bhanu, learned Senior Counsel instructed by Sri.Baby Mathew, learned counsel appearing for the applicant accused in these 3 cases, Sri.Saigi Jacob Palatty, learned Prosecutor appearing for the respondent State and Sri.John S. Ralph, learned Advocate instructed by Smt.A.Amrutha Vidyadaran, learned counsel appearing for the lady defacto complainant.
7. One of the main contentions urged by the applicant accused is to the effect that the lady defacto complainant was residing in the house of the petitioner's father, one Sri.Basheer at Noolidampara on rental basis at the time when the alleged incidents in respect of these crimes were committed. Further that at that time she had illicit relationship with a minor boy named, Kajahussain, S/o. Shahul, and he was found in the bed room of the defacto complainant several times and he was found in possession of her nude pictures. Further that the lady defacto complainant had sexually abused the said minor boy, Kajahussain, and when this illicit relationship was detected by the people of the locality, the defacto complainant has B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 7 :-
lodged complaint against said Kajahussain before the Police alleging that he had captured nude her pictures and subsequently, with the connivance of the Police, it was withdrawn and that false allegations are now being made with the help of the said Kajahussain that he has committed the abovesaid offences against the lady defacto complainant and her children with the connivance of Kajahussain, etc.
8. Some of the factual contentions urged on behalf of the applicant accused are as follows:
"1. Perusal of Annexure II letter would prove that Mr Kaja Hussain is in possession of the nude pictures of the defacto complainant and passed those pictures to other persons.
2. Annexure II letter would prove that the defacto complainant has illicit relationship with several persons. Annexure II letter would further prove that the defacto complainant has sexually abused minor person Kaja Hussain and thereby she committed offences punishable under POCSO Act.
3. Annexure III account statement would prove that the defacto complainant has extracted lot of money from the petitioner accused right from the year 2014 to 2017.
4. Annexure IV passport details would prove that the petitioner departed to Saudi Arabia as early as 06/08/2017 and but it is to be noted that crime No 90/2018 was registered only on 22/01/2018.
5. Annexure III account statement will prove that the B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 8 :-
defacto complainant received an amount of Rs.10,000 from the accused on 07/09/2017 after his departure on 06/08/2017.
6. Annexure-V WhatsApp message of Mr Kajahussain state that it is he himself who has sent the photos and videos of Mrs Shemeera to de facto complainant and her mother and friends.
7. There is absolutely nothing on record to prove that the petitioner/accused uploaded the nude pictures of the defacto complainant in the Face Book and Watsapp so as to attract offences punishable under the Information Technology Act.
9. In that regard, the applicant would contend that the defacto complainant has extracted lot of money from him right from the year 2014 to 2017 and that his passport details would prove that he had come to India only on 8.5.2017 and departed to Saudi Arabia as early as on 6.8.2017. Further that the allegations regarding the molestation of the minor daughters of the lady defacto complainant are absolutely false and there is no iota of truth therein and that it has been made only with the evil intention to falsely implicate the petitioner accused at any rate in a POCSO case. Further that the WhatsApp messages sent by the abovesaid Kajahussain (as per Anx.V) would prove that the defacto complainant is still continuing her illicit relationship with Kajahussain and it is at his instance that the lady defacto complainant has lodged the instant complaint B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 9 :-
against the petitioner as Kajahussain is in inimical terms with the petitioner, since his illicit relationship with the lady defacto complainant was detected by the petitioner in the year 2013 and that even since then, Kajahussain has been indulging in posting objectionable matters in social media against the petitioner accused and that he has sent WhatsApp message dated 19.9.2019 from his phone to the petitioner's phone stating that he himself had sent the photos and videos of the lady defacto complainant to the defacto complainant and her friends. Further it is also strongly urged that there is absolutely nothing on record to prove that the applicant accused has in fact uploaded the nude pictures of the defacto complainant in the Face Book and WhatsApp so as to attract the offences punishable under the Information Technology Act. Further that the applicant has absolutely no connection with the mobile numbers, from which the messages have been allegedly sent and that they are mobile numbers based in Saudi Arabia and that Saudi Arabian SIM cards are easily available in Indian airports during Hajj seasons and that Kajahussain, who was in possession of the defacto complainant's nude pictures, has uploaded the same in social medial to falsely implicate the petitioner in these cases, by using such SIM B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 10 :-
cards, etc. Various other factual contentions are raised by the petitioner accused to suggest that he is innocent and has been falsely implicated and that the obscene pictures have been misused by Kajahussain only to falsely implicate the petitioner on account of animosity against the petitioner for having detected Kajahussain's illicit relationship with the defacto complainant, etc.
10. Sri.P.Vijaya Bhanu, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the applicant accused would vehemently and strongly urge that the applicant accused has been falsely trapped by the lady defacto complainant with the connivance of the abovesaid Kajahussain and that the applicant accused would fully and unconditionally co-operate with the investigating agency concerned and that this Court may grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner subject to any stringent conditions.
11. The learned Prosecutor has filed a detailed statement on behalf of the investigating agency. Various factual allegations and contentions raised by the applicant accused are dealt with in the abovesaid statement dated 25.5.2020 filed by the Inspector of Police, Kuzhalmannam Police Station, Palakkad District. Since the various aspects dealt with in the said statement are mainly factual in nature B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 11 :-
and dealing with various factual aspects that have emerged in the investigation, it may be pertinent to refer to paragraphs 4 to 10 (as given on pages 2 to 4 thereof) of the said statement dated 25.2.2020 filed by the investigating officer, which read as follows:
"4. With respect to the Annexure II letter produced by the petitioner, the letter alleged to be sent by Kaja Hussain, to the defacto complainant, it is submitted as follows. A detailed investigation was conducted with respect to the said letter and on questioning Kaja Hussain, he' stated that due to his ill will towards the defacto complainant at that time as she .slaped . Kaja Hussain at the time of quarrel happened between Kaja Hussain and his mother and that filed petition against him at Alathur Police Station by the defacto complainant he sent such a letter but the contents of the said letter is not true. The defacto complainant stated that she has not received any such letter from Kaja Hussain. It appears that as the defacto complainant and her family were residing in the house of the petitioner, on rent, the said
-letter might to have collected by the petitioner and not given to the defacto complainant.
5. During the course of investigation 161 statement have been recorded from the defacto complainant (PW1), from' the husband of defacto complainant Rasheed (PW 12), from Kaja Hussain (PW 17), from the wife of accused Balkees(PW 23), from Rubaidha, the friend of the accused and defacto complaint (PW 28), from Saithun (PW 21) and Abhitha (PW 22). From all thee statements it is evident that the nude photos and videos of the decato complainant are in possession of the petitioner and he himself transmitted those pictures to other persons. More over the mobile phones of PW1, Shameera, PW12 Rasheed, PW23 Balkees, PW 28 Rubhaidha have been seized by police and sent to Forensic Science Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram, through the POSCO Court Palakkad for examination. The result of the examination is awaiting. Not only that from the statement of defacto complainant and Kaja Hussain it is evident that nude photos of the defacto complainant are taken by Kaja Hussain in his mobile. phone, but the mobile phone of Kaja Hussain was seized forcefully by the petitioner from the spot itself and the data in it was copied to the laptop of the petitioner in the presence of witnesses. Later this phone was handed over to the then Circle Inspector of Police of Al'athur by the petitioner based on the petition filed by the defacto complainant against Kaja Hussain and given back to the petitioner by the then CI of Police Alathur as the petition was settled between the defacto complainant and Kaja Hussain. In addition to that during the year:of 2014 the accused has called Kaja Hussain over mobile phone and the same was recorded and produced by B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
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Kaja Hussain in the form of CD, which is seized by police and submitted to the Hon'ble POCSO Court, Palakkad. On hearing of the recorded conversation between accused ,and Kaja Hussain it is clear that the petitioner had intimidated Kaja Hussain and the control of the phone used by Kaja Hussain is vest with him at Gulf with the help of software Engineers and by using the Face Book ID of Kaja Hussain so many things were done by the petitioner.
6. Investigation does not reveal any illicit relationship of the defacto complainant with any other persons as alleged by the petitioner . So also there is no evidence to prove that the defacto complainant sexually abused the minor child Kaja Hussain attracting offences under the POCSO Act. The statement of Kaja Hussain also recorded and he specifically stated that he was not subjected to sexual assault by the defacto complainant at any point of time. The contention of the petitioner is that the defacto complainant extracts lot of money from the petitioner during the year 2014 to 2017 is not true. The investigation disclosed that in fact the petitioner had extracted an amount of Rs. 4,00.000/- from the defacto complainant by intimidating her. The defacto complainant . clearly mentioned those facts in her 161 statement. Later' due to the consistent demand of the defacto complainant to the petitioner for return of money the petitioner paid back amount of Rs. 90,000/- to the defacto complainant. The amount returned to the defacto complainant is only a part of the amount extracted by the petitioner from the defacto complainant and nothing to clo with their sexual 'involvement or relationship.
7. In the 164 statement given by the defacto complainant, before JFCM I Palakkad, the defacto complainant explained the reason for the delay in filing the petition before the police. The delay had happened due to the intimidation from the accused that the nude photos and videos of the defacto complainant will be passed to her husband and her friends by the petitioner and thereby breaking her family life.
8. It is true that an amount of Rs. 10,000/- also returned by the petitioner to the defacto complainant but according to the defacto complainant the said amount is also repaid by the petitioner as part of Rs. 4,00,000' extracted by him from the defacto complainant.
9. It is pertinent to note that even the wife of the petitioner namely Bulkees that she has indeed, received nude photos and videos of the defacto complainant from the mobile phone of the petitioner and she clearly admit that it is the petitioner who transmitted nude photos of the defacto complainant. 161 statement of the defacto complainant, Statement of husband of the defacto complainant also specifically stated that it is the petitioner who transmited naked photo/video of the defacto complainant. One of the friend of the defacto complainant and who is also the friend of the petitioner specifically stated that she has also received nude photos/videos from the phone of the petitioner. The mobile B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
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phone of the wife of the petitioner and such friend Rubbaidha has been seized and sent for Forensic examination. The mobile phone of defacto complainant and her husband also seized and sent Forensic examination. It is pertinent to note that naked photos/videos of the defacto complainant is available in all these mobile phones.
10. It is evident from the 161 statements of the defacto complainant, her husband Rasheed, Kaja Hussain, Saithun, Abhitha, Balkees wife of the accused, Rubhaidha the friend of accused and the defacto complainant that accused has sent the nude photos and the videos of the defacto complainant thorough Whatsapp to her mother, relatives and others. This act of the accused attracts offences punishable under Information Technology Act."
12. Sri.Saigi Jacob Palatty, learned Prosecutor appearing for the respondent State would strongly urge that the investigating agency has collected substantial materials to link the petitioner accused with the crime and the accused could not be arrested as he was absconding to avoid arrest for a quite long time and hence look out notice has been issued against him on 14.2.2018. The learned Prosecutor further submits that even according to the petitioner, he has come to India very recently and if the petitioner is given anticipatory bail, it would detrimentally affect the course of the investigation and that the custodial interrogation is highly necessary and imperative for the further progress of the investigation in these crimes. It is also urged by the learned Prosecutor that the investigation conducted from 2018 by the earlier investigating officers and from 1.2.2020 by the present investigating officer and B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
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from the statements of the witnesses, it is disclosed the the defacto complainant was residing in the rented house owned by the father of the petitioner and her neighbour, Kajahussain had taken her nude pictures in her house and the petitioner accused had acted as a role of mediator and extracted the mobile phone from Kajahussain on the pretext of deleting the nude photos taken by Kajahussain and that instead of doing that, the petitioner accused had copied the data contained in the nude pictures from the mobile phone to the petitioner's laptop and kept the mobile phone with him and had later threatened and forced the lady defacto complainant to have sexual intercourse with him during the periods in question by intimidating her that her photos thus copied will be disseminated through social media like Face Book and Whastapp, etc. Moreover, the accused has collected the details of the sexual relationship of the defacto complainant over phone and has later sexually assaulted her two minor daughters and had also passed nude photos to her husband and friends through social media and thereby he has committed the abovesaid offences. Further the learned Prosecutor points out that both in the Sec. 161 Cr.P.C. statements as well as in the Sec. 164 Cr.P.C. statements the minor daughters of the lady defacto B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
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complainant have specifically asserted that the petitioner has sexually assaulted them by kissing them and also by pressing the breast of the elder daughter and that they have stated that the petitioner accused has threatened them that they will be killed by hitting his vehicle if they disclose this to anyone in the family. On the basis of these aspects, the learned Prosecutor would urge that the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is highly necessary as otherwise the investigation will not be able to be progressed any further. Further that the accused has been evading apprehension and arrest in this case for a very long time and he was in a foreign country and it is only very recently that he has come to India and if he is let off on bail, there is very likelihood of the petitioner intimidating and influencing the witnesses including the lady defacto complainant and her minor daughters, and he might even abscond and get away from the arms of the law. Further the learned Prosecutor would point out that the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is highly necessary and that the anticipatory bail application of the petitioner is liable to be rejected in view of the following aspects:
a. He was absconding for a period of two years.
b. He has used fake ids and several phones and apparatus to
B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
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commit the crimes.
c. He has disseminated the photos and videos of the victim to
i) Relatives of the victim
ii) To her Husbands' relatives
iii) To auto drivers in the locality
iv) To school and college students
d. He has made wild allegations of un-chastity about the victim
without any basis.
e. He has threatened to circulate the morphed nude images of the
child victims.
f. It is understood that the nude videos and photos of the victim
are posted in 9 porn sites in internet that includes 3 banned sites.
In the light of these aspects, the learned Prosecutor would strongly urge that the plea of anticipatory bail made by the petitioner accused in these case may be rejected, as otherwise it will be highly detrimental to the fair progress of the investigation.
13. Sri.John S.Ralph, learned counsel appearing for the defacto complainant has also been heard in detail. Sri. John S.Ralph, learned counsel has taken this Court's attention to the famous words of Susan Brownmiller, in her book "Against our will" that "The body of a raped woman becomes a ceremonial battlefield, a parade ground for the victors trooping of the colors". The learned counsel for the lady B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 17 :-
defacto complainant would urge that the petitioner accused had disseminated photos and videos of the lady victim to her relatives, to her husbands' relatives, and to the auto drivers in the locality and to the school and college students of the locality and that he has threatened to circulate morphed nude images of the victims also. Further he would also submit that it is reliably understood that nude pictures and videos of the lady victim have been posted in nine porn sites in the internet, that includes 3 banned sites and the Police can take steps to remove the same from the internet only if the information in that regard is collected from the petitioner accused. Further Sri.John S.Ralph, learned counsel appearing for the lady defacto complainant would point out that the anticipatory bail sought for by the petitioner is liable to be rejected by this Court as his custodial interrogation is highly imperative and essential for the following reasons:-
i. to find out the numerous fake ids through which the accused had disseminated photos and videos mentioned above to a large number of persons.
ii. to find out the apparatus with which he has fabricated evidence of Whatsapp messages to make a false defence. iii. to erase the images and videos of the victim from those B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
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apparatus and spaces like Google drive that must have been protected by a password.
iv. to erase any morphed images of the minor victims from the aforesaid spaces, and v. To prevent the repetition of crime through his men and agents.
14. Further Sri.John S.Ralph, learned counsel appearing for the lady defacto complainant would point out that crimes of this nature using electronic media are on an alarming rise and that a quite a large number of lady victims are also even taking the extreme step of ending up their lives and alarming number of families get destroyed in this process and minor girls like in the instant case are also victimised and abused and due to the mounting number of such cases, it is highly necessary that crimes of this nature are controlled and that in the light of these aspects, the plea for anticipatory bail may be rejected by this Court.
15. The learned counsel for the applicant accused would point out that the present allegations raised on behalf of the lady defacto complainant are untenable and wrong and further that even the Police does not have any case of that nature. The learned counsel for the defacto complainant would point out that these are matters which should be effectively and properly investigated by the Police and if the B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 19 :-
information in that regard has not so far been conveyed to the investigating agency, steps in that regard will be taken by the defacto complainant. While considering the present anticipatory bail application, there is no necessity for this Court to get into the factual details pertaining to these cases.
16. The learned Prosecutor has also submitted that the investigation has revealed that the petitioner accused has made certain mobile conversation with Kajahussain, whereby he has threatened and intimidated Kajahussain and that the said conversion has been recorded by Kajahussain and the said conversion has been recorded in a CD, which has been given to the investigating officer by Kajahussain, and the said CD has been duly produced before the criminal court concerned. The learned Prosecutor has also made available the written transcript of the said alleged conversation that is said to have taken place between the petitioner and Kajahussain for the perusal of this Court. In that regard Sri.P.Vijaya Bhanu, learned Senior Counsel would strongly urge that it is reliably learnt that even the alleged mobile phone said to have been used by Kajahussain, for those conversations has not been seized by the Police so far and the CD containing the alleged audio conversations is bereft of any B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 20 :-
reliability, even for investigation purposes. Per contra, the learned Prosecutor would point out that in case the mobile phone of Kajahussain has not so far been seized, then steps will be duly taken by the investigating agency without any further delay. Further it is pointed out that by the learned Prosecutor that earlier though the allegations in these three cases are interlinked, three separate crimes were registered with the different Police Stations and therefore as the allegations are interlinked and they have been investigated by 3 different investigating agencies, there could have been lack of co- ordination in having a well focused investigation into the various interlinked factual aspects of these cases. It is precisely for this reason that pursuant to the directions issued by the District Police Chief concerned, that the investigation in these three separate crimes has now been entrusted to a single officer of the superior rank of Inspector of Police.
After hearing all the parties concerned in extenso and meticulous consideration of the various aspects of this case, this Court is of the considered view that it may not be right and proper for this Court to make a detailed assessment of the rival factual contentions urged by both sides, as the matter is at the early stage of B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
- : 21 :-
the investigation. However, after hearing all the parties concerned and after going through the materials on record, this Court is of the considered view that the allegations disclosed in this case are very grave and serious. It is the solemn duty of the investigating agency to ferret out the unvarnished truth of the matter. The petitioner admittedly has been evading apprehension and arrest in this case for a long time and admittedly he was abroad for a quite a long time and it is very recently that he has come back to Kerala. This Court finds substantial force in some of the contentions raised by the learned Prosecutor and the learned counsel appearing for the lady defacto complainant that the custodial interrogation of the petitioner in this case is highly necessary and imperative for the smooth conduct of the investigation and further progress of this case. This Court is not now equipped with any objective and indisputable materials so as to overrule the abovesaid considered stand of the investigating agency and in matters of this nature, the investigating agency would be better equipped to assess the various nuances of the scenario regarding necessity and imperativeness of having custodial interrogation of the accused. Since this Court is not equipped with any objective materials so as to overrule the abovesaid considered B.A.199, 201 & 208 of 2020
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stand of the investigating agency regarding the imperativeness and necessity for having the custodial interrogation of the petitioner accused in these cases, this Court is not inclined to accede to the plea of the petitioner for grant of anticipatory bail. At any rate, this Court is constrained to take the view that these cases are not cases in which the extraordinary discretion of this Court for granting anticipatory bail is to be invoked. Accordingly, the plea for anticipatory bail fails in these cases and the above applications will stand dismissed.
Sd/-
sdk+ ALEXANDER THOMAS, JUDGE