AJEESH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners are accused 1 to 4 and 6 in Crime No.08 of 2021 of Chengannur Police Station, initially registered for offences under Sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 341, 323 and 324 of IPC. Petitioners surrendered before the jurisdictional court on 06.01.2021 and was granted regular bail under Section 437(1) of Cr.P.C. On the same day, the investigating officer filed an additional report incorporating the offences under Sections 306 and 308 of IPC and submitted Annexure E application before the court seeking permission to arrest the accused and produce them before the court or to require the accused to appear before the court to consider whether, in view of inclusion of serious offences, they are entitled to continue on bail. This resulted in Annexure F order by which the court cancelled bail granted to the petitioners, issued non-bailable warrants and permitted the investigating officer to arrest them.

(2.) The challenge against Annexure F is primarily on the ground that, having granted bail to the petitioners on 06.01.2021, the court committed an illegality by cancelling the bail on the same day. Learned counsel for the petitioners contended that the petitioners had executed the bail bonds only by evening on 06.01.2021, by which time the bail got cancelled, that too, without giving notice to the petitioners.

(3.) Learned Public Prosecutor submitted that, bail granted to the petitioners was for bailable offences and that, non-bailable offences under Sections 308 and 326 having been incorporated. Subsequently, the lower court was justified in cancelling the bail. It is submitted that the first information statement was given by the father of the injured, as the injured was hospitalised and not in a position to give statement. That, from the statement of the victim taken later and the medical records, it was revealed that the offences under Sections 308 and 326 were also committed.