Kerala High Court
Biju Manikandan vs State Of Kerala on 22 April, 2025
B. A. Nos. 4613 & 4599 of 2025
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2025:KER:32927
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE MURALEE KRISHNA S.
TUESDAY, THE 22ND DAY OF APRIL 2025 / 2ND VAISAKHA, 1947
BAIL APPL. NO. 4613 OF 2025
CRIME NO.226/2025 OF TOWN WEST POLICE STATION, THRISSUR
PETITIONER/S:
BIJU MANIKANDAN
AGED 47 YEARS
S/O MANIKANDAN, PUTHENVEETTIL HOUSE, PURA - 41,
PUTHOORKKARA DESOM, AYYANTHOLE P O, THRISSUR
DISTRICT, PIN - 680003
BY ADVS.
SHIRAZ ABDULLA M.S.
M.S.IMTHIYAZ AHAMMED
U.A.KUNJUMUHAMMED
K.ABDUL NASSAR
VISHNU DEV C.S.
MUHAMMED AZHARUDEEN A.
RESPONDENT/S:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, PIN - 682031
OTHER PRESENT:
ADV. RENJITH GEORGE, SR.P.P.
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
22.04.2025, ALONG WITH Bail Appl..4599/2025, THE COURT ON
THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
B. A. Nos. 4613 & 4599 of 2025
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2025:KER:32927
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE MURALEE KRISHNA S.
TUESDAY, THE 22ND DAY OF APRIL 2025 / 2ND VAISAKHA, 1947
BAIL APPL. NO. 4599 OF 2025
CRIME NO.378/2025 OF TOWN WEST POLICE STATION, THRISSUR
PETITIONER/S:
BIJU MANIKANDAN
AGED 47 YEARS
S/O MANIKANDAN, PUTHENVEETTIL HOUSE, PURA - 41,
PUTHOORKKARA DESOM, AYYANTHOLE P O, THRISSUR
DISTRICT, PIN - 680003
BY ADVS.
SHIRAZ ABDULLA M.S.
M.S.IMTHIYAZ AHAMMED
K.ABDUL NASSAR
U.A.KUNJUMUHAMMED
VISHNU DEV C.S.
MUHAMMED AZHARUDEEN A.
RESPONDENT/S:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, PIN - 682031
OTHER PRESENT:
ADV.RENJITH GEORGE,SR.P.P.
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
22.04.2025, ALONG WITH Bail Appl..4613/2025, THE COURT ON
THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
B. A. Nos. 4613 & 4599 of 2025
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ORDER
Dated this the 22nd day of April, 2025
These Bail Applications are filed under S.482 of Bharatiya
Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (for short 'BNSS').
2. Petitioner herein is the 4th accused in Crime No. 226 of
2025 and the 5th accused in Crime No. 378 of 2025 of Thrissur
West Police Station, registered for the offences punishable
under Sections 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
3. The prosecution case is that, the petitioner, who is one
of the Directors of the Heewan Nidhi Limited and Heewan
Finance Limited, with intention to defraud the depositors,
received huge amount from the defacto complainants and
others promising to repay the amount with interest and
thereafter, cheated the defacto complainants, without repaying
the amount as promised. Thus, the accused allegedly committed
the above offences.
4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the
learned Public Prosecutor.
5. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that
the petitioner was in judicial custody for more than 11 months
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in some other criminal cases of similar nature registered against
him. He was granted anticipatory bail subsequent to his release
from jail by this Court as per the order dated 01.04.2025 in B.
A. No. 4064 of 2025 and connected cases.
6. The learned Public Prosecutor opposed the bail
application. The learned Public Prosecutor submitted that the
petitioner is involved in more than 76 cases.
7. 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 [(2020)
13 SCC 791] after considering the earlier judgments on the
point, 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.
8. Recently the Apex Court in Siddharth v. State of
Uttar Pradesh and Another [2021 (5) KHC 353] considered
the point in detail. The relevant paragraph of the above
judgment is extracted hereunder:
"12. We may note that personal liberty is an important
aspect of our constitutional mandate. The occasion to
arrest an accused during investigation arises when
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custodial investigation becomes necessary or it is a
heinous crime or where there is a possibility of influencing
the witnesses or accused may abscond. Merely because an
arrest can be made because it is lawful does not mandate
that arrest must be made. A distinction must be made
between the existence of the power to arrest and the
justification for exercise of it. (Joginder Kumar v. State of
UP and Others (1994 KHC 189 : 1994 (4) SCC 260 : 1994
(1) KLT 919 : 1994 (2) KLJ 97 : AIR 1994 SC 1349: 1994
CriLJ 1981)) If arrest is made routine, it can cause
incalculable harm to the reputation and self - esteem of a
person. If the Investigating Officer has no reason to
believe that the accused will abscond or disobey summons
and has, in fact, throughout cooperated with the
investigation we fail to appreciate why there should be a
compulsion on the officer to arrest the accused."
9. In Manish Sisodia v. Central Bureau of
Investigation [2023 KHC 6961], the Apex Court observed
that even if the allegation is one of grave economic offences, it
is not a rule that bail should be denied in every case.
10. Records would show that the petitioner was granted
regular bail in several cases wherein he was arrested and
detained in judicial custody. Subsequently, he was granted
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anticipatory bail also by this Court in some of the cases.
Indefinite incarceration of the petitioner may not be necessary.
11. Considering the dictum laid down in the above
decisions and considering the facts and circumstances of this
case, these Bail Applications are allowed with the following
directions:
1. The petitioner shall appear before the Investigating
Officer within two weeks from today and shall
undergo interrogation.
2. After interrogation, if the Investigating Officer
proposes to arrest the petitioner, he shall be released
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 arresting
officer concerned.
3. 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 or her from
disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police
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officer.
4. Petitioner shall not leave India without permission
of the jurisdictional Court.
5. Petitioner shall not commit an offence similar to the
offence of which he is accused or suspected.
6. Needless to mention, it would be well within the
powers of the investigating officer to investigate the
matter and, if necessary, to effect recoveries on the
information, if any, given by the petitioner even while
the petitioner is on bail as laid down by the Hon'ble
Supreme Court in Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT
of Delhi) and another [2020 (1) KHC 663].
7. It is made clear that if any of the above conditions
are violated by the petitioner, the prosecution and the
victims are at liberty to approach the jurisdictional
Court for cancellation of bail in accordance with law.
Sd/-
MURALEE KRISHNA S.
JUDGE
Eb
