Kerala High Court: A Single Judge Bench comprising of B. Sudheendra Kumar, J. decided a bail application, wherein the petitioner was granted anticipatory bail on the reasoning of him being a first time offender.
The petitioner was accused for the offences under Section 379 IPC along with Section 23 read with Section 20 of the Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation and Removal of Sand Act. It was alleged that the petitioner was illegally carrying the river sand in his vehicle and when apprehended by the police, he left his lorry and ran away. The petitioner filed the instant application under Section 438 CrPC seeking anticipatory bail.
The High Court perused the record and found that the petitioner was not involved in any other offence; he had no criminal antecedents; he was a first time offender. In such circumstances, the Court was of the view that the application of the petitioner for grant of anticipatory bail deserved to be allowed. Hence, the respondents were directed to enlarge the petitioner on bail in event of his arrest under the said offence. [Aarif P. v. State of Kerala, 2018 SCC OnLine Ker 1446, dated 27-04-2018]