Kerala High Court
Vidhya Immanuvel vs State Of Kerala on 7 May, 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN
FRIDAY, THE 07TH DAY OF MAY 2021 / 17TH VAISAKHA, 1943
Bail Appl..No.3478 OF 2021
CRIME NO.775/2019 OF Irinjalakuda Police Station ,
Thrissur
PETITIONER/S:
VIDHYA IMMANUVEL
AGED 30 YEARS
PANACKAL VEEDU, THAIKAL P.O, OTTASSERI MURI,
KADAKKARAPPALLY,CHERTHALA,ALAPUZHA
688530
BY ADVS.
SRI.BIJITH S.KHAN
SMT.T.RESHMA
RESPONDENT/S:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,HIGH COURT
OF KERALA
682031
R1 BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
OTHER PRESENT:
P.P.SMT.M.K.PUSHPALATHA
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 07.05.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE
FOLLOWING:
B.A.No.3478/2021
..2..
P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN, J
--------------------------------
B.A.No.3478 of 2021
-------------------------------
Dated this the 7th day of May, 2021
ORDER
This Bail Application filed under Section 439 of Criminal
Procedure Code was heard through Video Conference.
2. The petitioner is the accused in crime No.777/2019
of Irinjalakuda Police Station. The above case is registered
against the petitioner alleging offences punishable under
Section 406, 420 r/w Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
3. The prosecution case is that the accused, four in
numbers, with intention to cheat the defacto complainant,
promised the defacto complainant to arrange Visa for himself
and his wife for job in Israel and caused the defacto
complainant to send Rupees Nine lakhs to the accused.
Subsequently, the accused did not arrange Visa nor return the
money. Hence, it is alleged that the petitioner committed the
B.A.No.3478/2021
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offence.
4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and
the learned Public Prosecutor. The counsel for the petitioner
submitted that the petitioner is arrested in this case on
24.03.2021. The counsel submitted that the petitioner is a
lady and she is having small kids. The counsel submitted that
the petitioner is ready to abide by any conditions, if this Court
grant her bail. The Public Prosecutor opposed the bail
application. The Public Prosecutor submitted that there are
other cases also registered against the petitioner with similar
allegations. The Public Prosecutor submitted that the
petitioner may not be released on bail at this stage.
5. The petitioner is in custody from 24.03.2021
onwards. It is true that the allegation against the petitioner is
serious. It is also a fact that some other cases are also
registered against the petitioner. But the fact remains that
the defacto complainant in this case has given huge amount to
the accused for getting Visa. It is not clear whether such
payment is permissible in law for getting Visa. I do not want
B.A.No.3478/2021
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to make any observation about the merit of the case. The
petitioner is a lady. She is in custody from 24.03.2021
onwards. The apprehension of the prosecution that she will
abscond after getting bail can be redressed by directing her to
surrender her passport, if any. I think, with such a direction,
this Bail Application can be allowed.
6. Moreover, the 2nd wave of COVID-19 is spreading in
the country and the citizens are facing serious difficulties. In
the state of Kerala, the 2nd wave of the pandemic is creating
lot of problems and even the day-to-day life of the citizens are
affected. Everyday, about 25,000 people are tested positive
with COVID-19. In such circumstances, this Court has to
consider this fact also while considering bail applications. The
life is more important than anything. Therefore, I am
considering this bail application based on the above pandemic
situation.
7. Moreover, considering the need to follow social
distancing norms inside prisons so as to avert the spread of
the novel Corona Virus Pandemic, the Hon'ble Supreme Court
B.A.No.3478/2021
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in Re: Contagion of COVID-19 Virus In Prisons case (Suo
Motu Writ Petition(C) No.1 of 2020) and a Full Bench of
this Court in W.P(C)No.9400 of 2020 issued various salutary
directions for minimizing the number of inmates inside
prisons. These happened during the 1 st wave of COVID-19
season.
8. Moreover, it is a well accepted principle that the
bail is the rule and the jail is the exception. The Hon'ble
Supreme Court in Chidambaram. P v Directorate of
Enforcement (2019 (16) SCALE 870), after considering all
the earlier judgments, observed that, the basic jurisprudence
relating to bail remains the same inasmuch as the grant of
bail is the rule and refusal is the exception so as to ensure
that the accused has the opportunity of securing fair trial.
9. Considering the dictum laid down in the above
decision and considering the facts and circumstances of this
case, this Bail Application is allowed with the following
directions:
1. The petitioner shall be released
B.A.No.3478/2021
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on bail on executing a bond for Rs.50,000/-
(Rupees Fifty Thousand only) with two
solvent sureties each for the like sum to the
satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court.
2. The petitioner shall appear
before the Investigating Officer for
interrogation as and when required. The
petitioner shall co-operate with the
investigation and 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 him from
disclosing such facts to the Court or to any
police officer.
3. The Petitioner shall not leave
India without permission of the
jurisdictional Court.
4. The Petitioner shall not commit
any offence similar to the offence alleged in
B.A.No.3478/2021
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this case.
5. The petitioner shall strictly abide by
the various guidelines issued by the State
Government and Central Government with
respect to keeping of social distancing in
the wake of Covid 19 pandemic.
6. The petitioner shall surrender
her passport before the Jurisdictional
Court. If there is no passport, the
petitioner shall file an affidavit to that
effect, before the Court concerned.
7. If any of the above conditions are
violated by the petitioner, the jurisdictional
Court can cancel the bail in accordance to
law, even though the bail is granted by this
Court.
Sd/-
P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN
JUDGE
kkj
