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Kerala High Court
Pradeep.P vs State Of Kerala on 7 April, 2026
Author: Kauser Edappagath
Bench: Kauser Edappagath
2026:KER:31012
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE KAUSER EDAPPAGATH
TUESDAY, THE 7TH DAY OF APRIL 2026 / 17TH CHAITHRA, 1948
BAIL APPL. NO. 1671 OF 2026
CRIME NO.42/2026 OF SANTHANPARA POLICE STATION, IDUKKI
AGAINST THE ORDER DATED 05.03.2026 IN BAIL APPL. NO.1086
OF 2026 OF HIGH COURT OF KERALA
PETITIONER/5TH ACCUSED:
PRADEEP.P
AGED 49 YEARS
S/O PREMAN, ERATHIL HOUSE, THAZHATHANGADI P.O.,
THAZHATHANGADI, KOTTAYAM DISTRICT, PIN - 686005.
BY ADV SRI.LATHEESH SEBASTIAN
RESPONDENT/S:
1 STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, ERNAKULAM, PIN - 682031.
2 STATION HOUSE OFFICER
SANTHANPARA POLICE STATION, IDUKKI DISTRICT,
PIN - 685619.
3 VANARAJ .S
AGED 61 YEARS, S/O SUNDARAM CHETTIYAR, SHANTHI
BHAVANAM, KANALMUKHAPPU, SANTHANPARA VILLAGE,
IDUKKI DISTRICT -IMPLEADED AS R3 VIDE ORDER DATED
31-3-26 IN CRL MA 1/2026.
BY ADVS.
SRI.M.C. ASHI, SR. PP
SMT.AJISHA M.S.
SHRI.PRAVEEN S.
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
07.04.2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:
B.A. No. 1671 OF 2026 2
2026:KER:31012
ORDER
This application is filed under Section 482 of the
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, BNSS),
seeking pre-arrest bail.
2. The applicant is the accused No.5 in Crime
No.42/2026 of Santhanpara Police Station, Idukki District. The
offence alleged is punishable under Section 318 r/w Section 3(5)
of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the
accused persons, acting in furtherance of their common intention,
cheated the defacto complainant by falsely representing that they
were the owners of a 10 Acre of property comprised in
Sy.Nos.30/1, 31/1 and 32/1 of Santhanpara Village and agreed to
sell the same for a total consideration of Rs.1,20,00,000/- (Rupees
one crore and twenty lakhs only). Believing the said
representation, the defacto complainant paid Rs.20,00,000/-
(Rupees twenty lakhs only) as advance, subsequently paid further
amounts, making a total of Rs.1,05,00,000/- (Rupees one crore
and five lakhs only) and an agreement for sale was executed,
pursuant to which possession was also handed over. It is alleged
that, despite receipt of the said amount, the accused persons
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have not executed the sale deed in favour of the defacto
complainant nor returned the money, thereby causing wrongful
loss to the defacto complainant, wrongful gain to themselves and
thereby committed the offence.
4. I have heard Sri. Latheesh Sebastian, the learned
counsel for the applicant, Sri.Praveen S., the learned counsel for
the defacto complainant and Sri.M.C. Ashi, the learned Senior
Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.
5. The learned counsel for the applicant submitted
that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in
the above crime. The counsel further submitted that no materials
are on record to connect the applicant with the alleged crime;
hence, he is entitled to bail. The learned Senior Public Prosecutor,
on the other hand, submitted that the alleged incident occurred as
part of the applicant's intentional criminal acts, and if he is
released on bail at this stage, it will affect the course of the
investigation.
6. The crime was registered pursuant to a private
complaint filed by the defacto complainant before the
jurisdictional Magistrate. There was a delay of six years in filing
the complaint. That apart, the property in question belongs to
accused Nos. 1 to 4. Admittedly, the entire amount was received
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by accused Nos. 1 to 4 from the defacto complainant. The main
allegation is against accused No.1. Considering the allegations
made against the applicant, his custodial interrogation seems
unnecessary. For these reasons, I find this to be an appropriate
case to grant prearrest bail to the applicant.
In the result, the application is allowed on the following
conditions:-
(i) The applicant shall be released on bail in the
event of his arrest on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees
One lakh only) with two solvent sureties for the like sum each to
the satisfaction of the arresting officer/investigating officer, as the
case may be.
(ii) The applicant shall fully cooperate with the
investigation, including subjecting himself to the deemed police
custody for discovery, if any, as and when demanded.
(iii) The applicant shall appear before the
investigating officer between 10.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. every
Saturday until further orders. He shall also appear before the
investigating officer as and when required.
(iv) The applicant shall not commit any offence of a
like nature while on bail.
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(v) The applicant shall not attempt to contact any of
the prosecution witnesses, directly or through any other person,
or in any other way try to tamper with the evidence or influence
any witnesses or other persons related to the investigation.
(vi) The applicant shall not leave the State of Kerala
without the permission of the trial Court.
(vii) The application, if any, for deletion/modification
of bail conditions or cancellation of bail on the grounds of violating
the bail conditions shall be filed at the jurisdictional court.
Sd/-
DR. KAUSER EDAPPAGATH
JUDGE
mea
2026:KER:31012
APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 1671 OF 2026
PETITIONER ANNEXURES
Annexure 1 TRUE CITIZEN COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME
NO.42/2026 OF SANTHANPARA POLICE STATION
DATED 14.01.2026
Annexure 2 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER OF THIS HON'BLE
COURT DATED 05.03.2026 IN B.A
Annexure 3 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER OF THE SESSIONS
COURT, THODUPUZHA IN B.A NO.133/2026
DATED 16.03.2026
