IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE K.HEMA FRIDAY, THE 20TH FEBRUARY 2009 / 1ST PHALGUNA 1930 Bail Appl..No. 870 of 2009() ---------------------------- (CRIME NO.220/CR/TVPM/2008 ORIGINAL CRIME NO.381/2008) PETITIONER/ACCUSED NO.7: -------------------- HEMALATHA, AGED 54 YEARS, D/O.SARADAMMA, CHIRAG, TC.20/1186(1), KARAMANA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM BY ADV. SRI.S.RAJEEV RESPONDENT(S): --------------- STATE OF KERALA, REP. BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM (CRIME NO.220/CR/TVPM/2008 ORIGINAL CRIME NO.381/2008) BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI. C.K.SURESH THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 20/02/2009, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING: K. HEMA, J. --------------------------------------------------- Bail Appl. No. 870 of 2009 --------------------------------------------------- Dated this the 20th day of February, 2009. ORDER Petition for bail. 2. The alleged offences are under Sections 406, 420 and 34 of IPC. According to prosecution, petitioner in furtherance of common intention committed various offences by persuading the depositors to deposit huge amounts, by making fraudulent representations etc., and thereafter the amount was not returned and interest was not paid and thereby cheated de facto complainant. The crime was registered on 29.8.2008. 3. Petitioner was arrested on 17.9.2008 in another similar crime and she is in custody since then. The arrest in this case was recorded later. Learned counsel for petitioner submitted that petitioner is implicated in as many as 12 crimes of similar nature and though she is granted bail in almost all the cases, she is still in custody, since the investigating agency has taken up a peculiar stand in the case, whereby, the release of petitioner is prevented by filing an application immediately before execution of the bond, to record arrest of accused in another [B.A.No.870/2009] 2 crime. In this case also, she apprehends such a mode will be adopted prior to execution of the bond and petitioner will not be released from custody, since arrest will be recorded in yet another crime. In such circumstances, a petition is filed by petitioner to give a direction to respondent to report whether petitioner is implicated as an accused in any other crime than the 12 crimes in which she is already implicated. Petitioner is a woman and she has been in custody for the past 153 days, it is submitted. 4. Learned Public Prosecutor submitted that he has no objection in granting bail. It is also conceded that petitions used to be filed to record arrest in another crime, but this is because of the reason that complaints were filed by aggrieved persons one after the other, and police is forced to record the arrest in the subsequent crimes. In one one such case pending against petitioner, an application is already filed and it is likely that arrest may be recorded today. It is however made clear that petitioner is implicated only in 12 crimes out of the 18 crimes which are registered and being investigated into by CBCID and hence CBCID is not intending to arrest petitioner in any other crime so far registered, in connection with “Total four You” scam. This submission is recored. [B.A.No.870/2009] 3 On hearing both sides, I find that bail can be granted to petitioner on conditions and hence the following order is passed: Petitioner shall be released on bail on her executing a bond for Rs.50,000/- each with two solvent sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the Magistrate court concerned, on the following conditions: i) Petitioner shall report before the investigating officer on every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. until further orders. ii) Petitioner shall not leave the limits of Thiruvananthapuram District except with the previous permission of learned Magistrate. iii) Petitioner shall not influence or intimidate any witness or tamper with evidence or commit any offence while on bail and in case of breach of this condition bail is liable to be cancelled. Petition is allowed. K. HEMA, JUDGE. Krs.