The Court dismissed a pre-arrest bail application filed by a college lecturer accused of sexual assault and online coercion against his student victim, citing grave allegations and prima facie electronic evidence of complicity.
Application dismissed; petitioner directed to surrender to jurisdictional court.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT:
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V
FRIDAY, THE 5TH DAY OF JANUARY 2018 / 15TH POUSHA, 1939
Bail Appl..No. 8536 of 2017
CRIME NO.2184/2017 OF ERATTUPETTA POLICE STATION, KOTTAYAM DISTRICT.
PETITIONER/ACCUSED:
MANU MANGATTU, AGED 33 YEARS, S/O.EMMANUEL, MANGATTU HOUSE, ARUVITHURA.P.O, ERATTUPETTA, KOTTAYAM-686122.
BY ADVS.SRI.SHABU SREEDHARAN
SRI.P.R.VIBHU SMT.NIDHI RAVINDRAN SRI.M.YOHANNAN SRI.D.THILAKAN SMT.RESHMA ABDUL RASHEED
RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT:
1 STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM-682031.
*ADDL. R2 IMPLEADED
2. ASHLEY ANTONY, D/O.ANTONY, AGED 19 YEARS, CHITTETHU HOUSE, VELLIKULLAM.P.O., TEEKOY, ERATTUPETTAH, KOTTAYAM.
ADDL. R2 IS IMPLEADED AS PER ORDER DATED 05.01.2018 IN CRL.M.A.13825/2017.
R1 BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI.SAJJU.S ADDL.R2 BY ADVS.SRI.S.PRASANTH
SRI.SOORAJ T.ELENJICKAL SRI. RAJESH PALLATTU SRI.K.ARJUN VENUGOPAL SMT.MARY RESHMA GEORGE SMT.P.M.MAZNA MANSOOR SRI.JEEVAN RAJEEV
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 05-01-2018, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:
mbr/
RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V, J
B.A No.8536 of 2017
Dated this the 5th day of January, 2018
ORDER
B.A No.8536 of 2017
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residential home at Aruvithura. He is alleged to have had sexual intercourse with the victim on several occasions. He is also alleged to have persuaded the victim to come to an apartment and sexually abused her on repeated occasions and also took photographs of the victim and threatened to publish it online. A complaint stating these allegations were submitted before the Principal which in terms were forwarded to the Inspector of Police, Erattupetta. In the aforesaid scenario, the Crime was registered.
6.The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is totally innocent. According to the learned counsel, the former Principal of the College and a couple of Lecturers are inimical towards him and they have availed the services of the father of the victim to implicate
B.A No.8536 of 2017
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him in a totally false case. According to the learned counsel, he has nothing to do with the victim girl and is innocent of the allegations.
B.A No.8536 of 2017
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arrest bail to the petitioner.
10.The learned counsel prays that a direction be issued to enable the petitioner to surrender before the jurisdictional court. I do not see any need for issuance of any such directions. The petitioner shall surrender before the jurisdictional court as expeditiously as possible and if an application for bail is filed, the same shall be considered and orders shall be passed on its merits.
This petition is dismissed.
RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V, JUDGE
ps/5/1/2017
3 issues framed by the court
Whether pre-arrest bail should be granted to an accused facing serious sexual assault and online abduction charges under IPC and IT Act.
Whether prima facie evidence of complicity justifies rejection of bail at the pre-arrest stage.
Whether the allegations against a married college teacher warrant dismissal of the bail application.
3 provisions across 3 enactments
Manu Mangattu
State of Kerala
Ashley Antony
Raja Vijayaraghavan V
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
