[Cites 7, Cited by 0]
Kerala High Court
Sagar S K vs State Of Kerala on 18 February, 2026
Author: Kauser Edappagath
Bench: Kauser Edappagath
2026:KER:14488
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE KAUSER EDAPPAGATH
WEDNESDAY, THE 18TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2026/29TH MAGHA, 1947
BAIL APPL. NO. 667 OF 2026
CRIME NO.846/2025 OF KUNNATHUNADU POLICE STATION, ERNAKULAM
PETITIONER/ACCUSED:
SAGAR S K
AGED 20 YEARS, SON OF AJITH SHEIKH,
SITA NAGAR, SAGARAPARA, MURSHIDABAD, WEST BENGAL,
PIN - 742306
BY ADVS.
SHRI.ADITH KRISHNAN.U.
SHRI.DHANANJAY DEEPAK
RESPONDENTS/STATE:
1 STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA,
ERNAKULAM, PIN - 682031
2 STATION HOUSE OFFICER
KUNNATHNADU POLICE STATION, THEKKADY ROAD,
KUNNATHANADU, ERNAKULAM, PIN - 683562
BY ADV.
SRI.K.A. NOUSHAD, SR. PP
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
18.02.2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
BAIL APPL. NO. 667 OF 2026
2
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ORDER
This application is filed under Section 483 of the
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short,
BNSS), seeking regular bail.
2. The applicant is the sole accused in Crime
No.846/2025 of Kunnathunadu Police Station, Ernakulam
District. The offence alleged is punishable under Section
20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act, 1985 ('the Act' for short).
3. The prosecution case, in short, is that, on
18.07.2025 at 12:30 hours, the police have seized 1.040
Kgs of Hashish Oil from the possession of the applicant
near Kizhakkambalam bus stand. Thus, the applicant has
committed the above offence.
4. I have heard Sri. Adith Krishnan.U, the
learned counsel for the applicant and Sri. K.A.Noushad, the
learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.
5. The learned counsel for the applicant
submitted that the applicant has been in custody since
18.07.2025 and the grounds of arrest were not
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communicated in accordance with law at the time of his
arrest. The learned Senior Public Prosecutor on the other
hand opposed the bail application and submitted that the
grounds of arrest were duly communicated.
6. Though prima facie there are materials on
record to connect the applicant with the crime, since the
applicant has raised a question of absence of
communication of the grounds of his arrest, let me consider
the same.
7. It is now well settled that the requirement
of informing a person of the grounds for arrest is a
mandatory requirement of Art.22(1) of the Constitution and
Section 47 of BNSS and absence of the same would render
the arrest illegal (See. Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India
and Others [(2024) 7 SCC 576], Prabir Purkayastha v.
State (NCT of Delhi) [(2024) 8 SCC 254], Vihaan Kumar
v. State of Haryana and Others (2025 SCC OnLine SC
269] and Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra
and Another (2025 SCC OnLine SC 2356).
8. In the instant case, the perusal of the
records show that the grounds of arrest were properly
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communicated to the arrestee, but they were not properly
communicated to the near relatives. The intimation does
not contain the grounds of arrest as well as the quantity of
the contraband seized. The Supreme Court in Kasireddy
Upender Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh (2025 SCC
OnLine SC 1228) has held that the grounds of arrest should
not only be provided to the arrestee but also to his family
members and relatives so that necessary arrangements are
made to secure the release of the person arrested at the
earliest possible opportunity so as to make the mandate of
Art.22(1) meaningful and effective, failing which, such
arrest would be rendered illegal. A learned Single Judge of
this Court in Alvin Riby v. State of Kerala (2025 KER
67079) following Kasireddy Upender Reddy (supra) held
that failure to communicate the grounds of arrest to the
near relatives renders the arrest illegal. Inasmuch as the
grounds of arrest were not communicated to the relatives
of the applicant, the arrest stands vitiated and he is
entitled to be released on bail.
In the result, the application is allowed on the
following conditions: -
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(i) The applicant shall be released on bail 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 jurisdictional Magistrate/Court.
(ii) The applicant shall fully co-operate with
the investigation.
(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.
(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 the bail conditions or cancellation
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of bail on the grounds of violating the bail conditions shall
be filed at the jurisdictional court.
Sd/-
DR. KAUSER EDAPPAGATH
JUDGE
ARK
BAIL APPL. NO. 667 OF 2026
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APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 667 OF 2026
PETITIONER ANNEXURES
ANNEXURE A1 TRUE COPY OF THE FIRST INFORMATION REPORT
(FIR) DATED 18.07.2025
ANNEXURE A2 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER IN CRL.MC NO:
2800/2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE DISTRICT &
SESSIONS COURT AT ERNAKULAM DATED 17.10.2025
ANNEXURE A3 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER IN CRL.MC NO:
3592/2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE DISTRICT &
SESSIONS COURT AT ERNAKULAM DATED 05.12.2025
ANNEXURE A4 TRUE COPY OF THE SECTION 50 (1) OF THE NDPS
ACT, 1985 GIVEN TO THE PETITIONER DATED
18.07.2025
ANNEXURE A5 TRUE TRUE COPY OF THE ARREST MEMO DATED
18.07.2025
ANNEXURE A6 TRUE COPY OF THE ARREST INTIMATION DATED
19.07.2025
ANNEXURE A7 TRUE COPY OF THE REMAND REPORT DATED
19.07.2025
