Kerala High Court
Deepu vs State Of Kerala on 11 June, 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK MENON
FRIDAY, THE 11TH DAY OF JUNE 2021 / 21ST JYAISHTA, 1943
BAIL APPL. NO. 4598 OF 2021
AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT IN SC 4/2021 OF DISTRICT COURT &
SESSIONS COURT,THRISSUR, THRISSUR
CRIME NO.1526/2020 OF KODAKARA POLICE STATION
PETITIONER/A2:
DEEPU
AGED 24 YEARS
S/O. FRANCIS, MOONJELY HOUSE, MONODY DESOM,
VELLIKULANGARA VILLAGE, MUKUNDAPURAM TALUK, THRISSUR
DISTRICT-680699.
BY ADV N.L.BITTO
RESPONDENT/S:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,
HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PIN - 682 031.
OTHER PRESENT:
SRI.E.C.BINEESH-PP
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 11.06.2021,
THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
BA 4598/2021
-2-
ORDER
[Dated this the 11th day of June, 2021]
BA No.4598 of 2021
Successive application for regular bail under Section 439 Cr.PC.
2. The applicant is the first accused in Crime No.1526/2020 of
Kodakara Police Station for having allegedly committed an offence
punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)C of the NDPS Act. The earlier application
filed by the applicant for bail as BA No.2372/2021 was dismissed by this
Court considering all possible contentions raised by the learned counsel
appearing for the applicant. An accused always has the right to make
successive application for grant of bail. But the court entertaining such
subsequent bail application has a duty to consider the reasons and grounds
on which the earlier application was rejected. In such cases, the court also
has a duty to record what are the fresh grounds which persuade it to take a
different view from the one which was taken in the earlier decision as was
observed by the Honourable Apex Court in Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v.
Rajesh Ranjan, [2004 KHC 754 : AIR 2004 SC 1866].
3. In the instant case, the learned counsel has vehemently argued
considering the present pandemic situation that final report has been filed and
taken on the file of the trial court as SC No.4/2021, but because of the
BA 4598/2021
present pandemic situation, the trial is likely to get protracted and therefore,
he seeks bail on that ground. The Honourable Apex Court has considered
the matter regarding release of prisoners in jail so as to decongest the
prisoners in suo motu proceedings [WP(C) 1/2021] in In Re: Contagion of
Covid 19 Virus In Prisons ... Petitioner(s) reported in 2021 SCC OnLine
SC 376, wherein the courts have been directed to take a liberal view in
granting bail in view of the decision of the Apex Court in Arnesh Kumar v.
State of Bihar [2014(3) KHC 69 : 2014 (8) SCC 273]. In that decision, the
direction is only to grant liberal bail to the persons who have been accused of
committing offences punishable with imprisonment up to seven years. But, in
the instant case, the applicant is accused of having been in possession of a
commercial quantity of narcotic drugs which attracts a punishment of up to
ten years of imprisonment. Moreover, there is also an embargo under
Section 37 of the NDPS Act. Therefore, the application for bail cannot be
considered again. The trial court is directed to expedite the trial of the case
and dispose of the same, as expeditiously as possible.
The bail application is disposed of as above.
Sd/-
ASHOK MENON
JUDGE
jg
