These applications were filed by first accused in Crime Nos.488/14, 517/14, 454/14, 409/14, 216/14, 309/14, 525/14, 490/14, 223/14, 491/14, 467/14, 346/14, 489/14, of Guruvayoor Police Station and Crime No. 415/14 of Contonment Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram for regular bail under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure.
2. The case of the prosecution in all these cases was that the petitioner being the promoter and trustee of M/s Santhimadom Trust induced several persons to invest money for the purpose of construction of flats in Guruvayoor and collected huge amounts from several persons and thereafter he neither constructed the building nor returned the amounts and thereby he along with other Trustees of the Trust committed offences under Sections 406 and 420 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code.
3. The counsel for the petitioner in all these cases submitted that in fact the petitioner has not committed any offence and he is innocent of the same and due to some technical reasons, the project could not be materialized and so there was no intention to cheat any of the investors. On the basis of the representation made before the State Legal Service Authority, attempts were made for settling the claims of the investors as well and some settlement was arrived at before the State Legal Service Authority and the petitioner is in jail from 10.02.2014 onwards. In some of the cases, he has already been granted default bail by this Court.
4. The applications were opposed by the Public Prosecutor on the ground that investigation of the case is not over and granting bail to the petitioner at this stage may affect the smooth progress of the investigation of these cases.
5. Heard both sides and perused the instructions of the investigating officer in all these cases.
6. It is seen an admitted fact that the petitioner is a Trustee of Santhimadom Trust which is a promoter for construction of flats in Guruvayoor. There are other trustees as well apart from the petitioner. It is also in away admitted that a project has been launched by the Santhimadom Trust through the petitioner and others and lot of persons have invested in the project as well. It is also in a way admitted that the project could not be completed as expected and according to the petitioner, it was not due to any fault of the trust but due to some technical reasons in getting sanctions from the authorities that the project could not be fulfilled. It is also an admitted fact that apart from these cases, some other cases were also registered against the petitioners and others as Crime No.201/14, 1165/14 of Cantonment Police Station of Thiruvananthapuram District and in fact he was arrested in connection with the above crimes as well. This court by common order dated 08.04.2014 in Bail Application Nos.2519/14 and 2520/14 granted default bail to the petitioner with some stringent conditions in these cases. Considering the fact that he has already been granted bail in some other cases and also considering the fact that he is in jail from 10.02.2014 onwards in almost all cases as he was arrested in each case and some settlement move is going on with the State Legal Service Authority and other accused persons were already been granted anticipatory bail, this court feels that bail can be granted to the petitioner as well with some stringent conditions. So, the petitions are allowed as follows.
1) The petitioner shall be released on bail in Crime Nos.488/14, 517/14, 454/14, 409/14, 216/14, 309/14, 525/14, 490/14, 223/14, 491/14, 467/14, 346/14 and 489/14, of Guruvayoor Police Station on executing a bond for Rs. 25,000/- each with two solvent sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Chavakkad.
2) The petitioner shall be released on bail in Crime No.415/14 of Cantonment Police Station of Thiruvananthapuram District on executing a bond for Rs.25,000/- with two solvent sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, No- III, Thiruvananthapuram.
3) The petitioner shall appear before the respective investigating officers in all these cases on the last Saturday of every month before the investigating officer who is conducting investigation in respect of cases of Guruvayoor Police Station and on the last Monday of every month before the investigating officer in Crime No.415/14 of Cantonment Police Station of Thiruvananthapuram District between 9 a.m and 10 a.m till the final report is filed.
4) The petitioner shall appear before the investigating officer for the purpose of interrogation in connection with the above crimes as and when required by him in writing to do so till the final report is filed.
5) The petitioner shall not intimidate or influence the witnesses.
6) The petitioner shall surrender his passport before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Chavakkad within one week of his release and if he is not having any passport, file an affidavit to that effect before that court within the above time.
7) The petitioner shall file an affidavit before the concerned magistrate courts while executing the bail bond detailing the immovable properties he has and also undertaking that he would not in any manner dispose of or encumber the said properties without getting prior permission from the concerned magistrate courts.
8) The petitioner shall file the attested copy of the said affidavits filed before the concerned courts obtained from the concerned magistrate courts before the Registrar/Sub-
Registrar concerned within two weeks from the date of his release.
9) The petitioner shall not leave India without getting prior permission from the concerned magistrate courts till the disposal of the case.
With the above conditions, the applications are allowed.
Sd/-
K. RAMAKRISHNAN, JUDGE.
Bb [True copy] P.A to Judge