P.GOPALAKRISHNAN ALIAS DILEEP Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in these cases are accused Nos.1 to 5 in Crime No.6/2022 of Crime Branch Police Station, Ernakulam. The said crime has been registered alleging commission of offences under Ss. 116, 118, 120B and 506 of the Indian Penal Code r/w. Sec. 34 of that Code.

(2.) The said crime was registered based on a complaint of the investigating officer in Crime No.297/2017 of Nedumbassery Police Station, which is now pending trial as S.C.No.118/2018 on the file of the Additional Special Sessions Judge, [CBI Court-Ill], Ernakulam. The complaint of the investigating officer essentially stems from certain information given by one Balachandra Kumar regarding the accused in this case. Briefly put, the information given by the aforesaid Balachandra Kumar is that owing to animosity arising out of the registration of Crime No.297/2017 where the 1st petitioner in B.A No.248/2022 is the main accused, the petitioners herein had conspired to do away with the investigating officer and other officers connected with Crime No.297/2017. The information given by the aforesaid Balachandra Kumar is stated to be supported by material such as voice clips and video graphs which would suggest that the allegations against the accused are correct.

(3.) Sri. B. Raman Pillai, the learned senior counsel instructed by Sri. Philip T. Varghese for the petitioners would contend, referring to the written complaint dtd. 22/11/2021 given by the aforesaid Balachandra Kumar(Annexure-G in B.A.No.248/2022), that even if the entire allegations contained therein are taken into account, the same does not constitute an offence, either of abetment under Ss. 116 or 118 of the Indian Penal Code or of criminal conspiracy to commit an offence under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code (punishable under Sec. 120B of the Code) as is now suggested by the prosecution. It is also submitted that subsequent statements given by the aforesaid Balachandra Kumar (produced as Annexures- H and I in B.A.N0.248/2022) are basically improvements of his earlier complaint. It is also pointed out that it is only in Annexure-I statement that the allegation of a conspiracy to harm the investigating officers in Crime No.297/2017 was made. It is submitted that even if the contents of Annexures-H and I are also taken into account, even then, the offences, as alleged, have not been committed. It is submitted that while the prosecution has every right to investigate into allegations based on the contents of Annexures-G, H and I, the prosecution cannot insist for custody of the petitioners, as at present no offence is made out.