[Cites 1, Cited by 0]
Kerala High Court
A. Raphel Mathew vs State Of Kerala on 31 January, 2026
Author: Kauser Edappagath
Bench: Kauser Edappagath
2026:KER:8328
BAIL APPL. NO. 14466 OF 2025
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE KAUSER EDAPPAGATH
SATURDAY, THE 31ST DAY OF JANUARY 2026 / 11TH MAGHA, 1947
BAIL APPL. NO. 14466 OF 2025
CRIME NO.724/2025 OF Town North Police Station, Palakkad
PETITIONERS:
1 A. RAPHEL MATHEW
AGED 62 YEARS
S/O A.O. MATHEW, ALUVATHINGAL HOUSE, K.K.
PARAMBU, NURANI POST, PALAKKAD, PIN - 678004
2 MERCY,
AGED 58 YEARS
, W/O A. RAPHEL MATHEW, ALUVATHINGAL HOUSE,
K.K. PARAMBU, NURANI POST, PALAKKAD, PIN -
678004
BY ADVS.
SMT.K.RAJESWARY
SHRI.ANIL PRABHA.K
SMT.ALEENA ANABELLI A.
RESPONDENT:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH
COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM - (SHO ,TOWN NORTH
POLICE STATION, PALAKKAD), PIN - 682031
BY ADV.SRI.K.A. NOUSHAD, SR. PP
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 31.01.2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
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BAIL APPL. NO. 14466 OF 2025
2
ORDER
This application is filed under Section 482 of the
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, BNSS),
seeking pre-arrest bail.
2. The applicants are the accused Nos.1 and 2
in Crime No.724/2025 of Town North Police Station, Palakkad
District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections
406, 409 and 420 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
3. The prosecution case, in short, is that during
the period from 30.06.2023 to 31.10.2023, the applicant No.1,
who was then functioning as a Clerk in the Kerala Agricultural
Workers Welfare Fund Board, Palakkad, manipulated the list of
beneficiaries entitled to financial benefits on attaining 60
years of age and substituted the bank account numbers of
himself and his wife (applicant No.2) in place of the actual
agricultural workers, misappropriated Rs.13,61,233/- and
thereby committed the aforementioned offences.
4. I have heard Smt.K.Rajeswary, the learned
counsel for the applicants and Sri.K.A.Noushad, the learned
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BAIL APPL. NO. 14466 OF 2025
Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.
5. The learned counsel for the applicants
submitted that the applicants are innocent and have been
falsely implicated in the above crime. The counsel further
submitted that no materials are on record to connect the
applicants with the alleged crime; hence, they are entitled to
get bail. The learned Senior Public Prosecutor, on the other
hand, submitted that the alleged incident occurred as a part of
the intentional criminal acts of the applicants, and if they are
released on bail at this stage, it will affect the course of the
investigation.
6. The applicant No.1 is a senior citizen aged 62
years. It is submitted that he is suffering from various illness
as well. The applicant No.2 is the wife of the applicant No.1,
aged 58 years. There is no specific allegation against the
applicant No.2. The statement of the defacto complainant
reported by the Investigating Officer would show that the
applicant No.1 has already returned Rs.12,65,608/- to the
Board. Considering the allegations made against the
applicants, their custodial interrogation seems unnecessary.
For these reasons, I find this to be an appropriate case to
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BAIL APPL. NO. 14466 OF 2025
grant pre-arrest bail to the applicants.
In the result, the application is allowed on the
following conditions:-
(i) The applicants shall be released on bail in
the event of their arrest on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/-
(Rupees One lakh only) each 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 applicants shall fully cooperate with the
investigation, including subjecting themselves to the deemed
police custody for discovery, if any, as and when demanded.
(iii) The applicants shall appear before the
investigating officer between 10.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. every
Saturday until further orders. They shall also appear before
the investigating officer as and when required.
(iv) The applicants shall not commit any offence
of a like nature while on bail.
(v) The applicants 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
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BAIL APPL. NO. 14466 OF 2025
investigation.
(vi) The applicants 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
Mn
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BAIL APPL. NO. 14466 OF 2025
APPENDIX OF BAIL APPL. NO. 14466 OF 2025
PETITIONER ANNEXURES
Annexure-1 TRUE COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME
NO.724/2025 DATED 16/06/2025
Annexure-2 A TRUE COPY OF THE GOVERNMENT ORDER
DATED 25.10.2023
Annexure-3 TRUE COPY OF THE CIRCULAR ISSUED BY
THE GOVERNMENT SECRETARY DATED
4.07.2022
Annexure -4 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER LETTER DATED
15.07.2022
Annexure-5 A TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER DATED
3.05.2025
Annexure-6 A TRUE COPY OF THE DEMAND DRAFT DATED
09.05.2025
Annexure-7 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER OF THE SESSIONS
COURT DATED 4.12.2025
