IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE K.T.SANKARAN FRIDAY, THE 18TH NOVEMBER 2011 / 27TH KARTHIKA 1933 Crl.MC.No. 2848 of 2011 CRIME NO.829 OF 2011 OF CHAVARA POLICE STATION, KOLLAM DISTRICT. PETITIONER: ACCUSED NO.1 -------------------------------------- UMESH MOHAN, S/O.MOHANAN, AGED 32 YEARS, "KARUNALAYAM", PUTHENTHURA, NEENDAKARA.P.O., KOLLAM DISTRICT. BY ADV. SRI.C.S.MANU RESPONDENT: COMPLAINANT ------------------------------------- STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY THE S.I. OF POLICE, CHAVARA POLICE STATION, (NOTICE TO WHOM MAY BE SERVED ON THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM). PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI.R.RANJITH THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 18/11/2011, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING: K.T.SANKARAN, J. ------------------------------------------------------ CRL.M.C. NO. 2848 OF 2011 ------------------------------------------------------ Dated this the 18th day of November, 2011 O R D E R The petitioner is accused No.1 in Crime No.829 of 2011 of Chavara Police Station, Kollam District. 2. The offence alleged against the accused is under Section 326 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. 3. The petitioner filed B.A.No.5615 of 2011 before this Court for anticipatory bail. That application was dismissed as per the order dated 11.8.2011. 4. The prayer in the Criminal Miscellaneous Case is for issuing a direction to the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, Karunagappally, to consider the application for interim bail that may be filed by the petitioner on the date of filing of the petition itself in the event of the application for regular bail being adjourned. It is submitted that the petitioner intends to surrender before court. His apprehension is that the Bail Application would be adjourned to CRL.M.C. NO.2848 OF 2011 :: 2 :: another date and, meanwhile, he would be remanded to judicial custody. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the learned Magistrate takes the view that the Court has no power to grant interim bail and if the Bail Application is adjourned, necessarily the accused has to go to jail. The counsel relied on the decisions of the Supreme Court in Sukhwant Singh and others v. State of Punjab ((2009) 7 SCC 559); Kamalendra Pratap Singh v. State of U.P. ((2009) 4 SCC 437) and Mukesh Kishanpuria v. State of West Bengal (2010 (5) SCR 702) in support of the contention that the power to grant interim bail is inherent in every court. In view of the aforesaid decisions of the Supreme Court, there cannot be any apprehension that the learned Magistrate would not consider the application for interim bail in case the regular bail application is adjourned to another date. Accordingly, the Criminal Miscellaneous Case is allowed. The Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, Karunagappally will consider the application for interim bail that may be submitted by the petitioner CRL.M.C. NO.2848 OF 2011 :: 3 :: on his surrender before Court on the same day on which the application is filed, if the application for regular bail happens to be adjourned to another date. The court below shall consider the application for interim bail on merits and pass appropriate orders. (K.T.SANKARAN) Judge ahz/