The Court of the LII Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge, Bangalore (CCH-53), presided over by Sri B.G. Pramoda, B.A.L., LL.B., delivered a judicial order on April 2, 2024, allowing a regular bail application filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.). The ruling in Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No. 2925/2024 extended regular bail protection to Sri Suresh (Accused No. 2) in connection with Crime No. 108/2024 of the Rajagopalanagar Police Station, Bengaluru, pending on the file of the XXXI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court, Bengaluru. The petitioner faced prosecution for alleged offences punishable under Sections 420 (cheating), 341 (wrongful restraint), 307 (attempt to murder), and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The criminal proceedings originated from a formal complaint lodged by one Mahammad Kunhi concerning an incident on March 21, 2024. According to the prosecution case, at approximately 10:40 AM on the said date, at the BRS (HP) Service Station belonging to Accused No. 4, the informant’s brother asked Accused Nos. 1 to 3 to provide proper petrol and the corresponding bill. Feeling angered by the query, Accused Nos. 1 to 3 allegedly assaulted the brother of the informant with an iron rod with the intention to commit murder, causing severe injuries. Upon being informed, the informant rushed to the spot, shifted the injured individual to the hospital, and questioned Accused No. 4 (the petrol bunk owner) regarding the incident. Accused No. 4 allegedly abused the informant in filthy language and issued criminal life threats alongside the other accused persons.

Following the registration of Crime No. 108/2024 by the Rajagopalanagar Police, the petitioner was arrested on March 21, 2024, and remanded to judicial custody. Seeking regular bail, the 45-year-old petitioner approached the Sessions Court through his legal counsel, Sri Manjunath M.R., asserting his complete innocence and maintaining that he had been falsely implicated in the crime. The defense submitted that the petitioner is a permanent resident of Bengaluru, belongs to a respectable family, is a law-abiding citizen, serves as the sole breadwinner for his family, and is fully prepared to furnish solvent sureties and abide by any stringent conditions imposed by the court.

The bail application was opposed by the learned Public Prosecutor, who filed formal written objections and the Investigating Officer’s report. The state urged that the offences were grave in nature and directed against societal safety, highlighting that the accused had used an iron rod to launch a murderous assault. The prosecution contended that releasing the petitioner at the active stage of investigation would create a high risk of abscondence, interference with the ongoing probe, tampering with evidence, threatening prosecution witnesses, or committing similar offences in the future.

Upon reviewing the case diary, remand applications, and rival submissions, Judge B.G. Pramoda recorded definitive findings on the points for consideration. The court observed that substantial investigation had already been carried out, including the drawing up of the spot mahazar in the presence of panchas, the recording of voluntary statements of the accused, and the recovery of the alleged weapon (iron rod) through the pointing-out of the accused. Furthermore, the injured victim had already been discharged from the hospital, with medical records confirming no ongoing threat or danger to life, rendering further custodial interrogation unnecessary.

Citing the landmark legal doctrine laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Balchand @ Baliya (AIR 1977 SC 2447)—which reiterates that “bail is the rule and jail is an exception” to safeguard personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India—the court held that continued pre-trial detention was uncalled for. The Sessions Court answered the point for consideration in the affirmative and allowed the regular bail petition filed under Section 439 Cr.P.C.

The court ordered that Sri Suresh (Accused No. 2) be enlarged on bail in connection with Crime No. 108/2024 of Rajagopalanagar Police Station, upon executing a personal bond for ₹1,00,000/- with one surety for the like sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Magistrate, subject to the following strict conditions:

• The petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer as and when called upon during the course of the investigation and shall cooperate fully with the proceedings.
• He shall appear before the trial court regularly on all hearing dates during the trial.
• He shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat, or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade them from disclosing facts to the court or police, nor tamper with evidence.
• He shall not commit offences of a similar nature or any other offences in the future.
• He shall furnish correct residential address proof before the trial court.
• He shall not leave India without the previous permission of the court.