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Petitioner who is accused of illegally mining river sand under Section 379 of the IPC and Sections 20 and 23 of the Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation of Removal of Sand Act, 2001 was granted bail as continue detention is not necessary for further investigation and was held by High Court of Kerala through the learned bench led by HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE GOPINATH P. in the case of KIRAN P P vs. STATE OF KERALA (BAIL APPL. NO. 755 OF 2022) on 1^st April, 2022.

Brief facts of the case are that on 08- 01-2022 at about 01.05 a.m., the petitioner was found transporting illegally mined river sand in violation of the provisions of the Sand Act in vehicle bearing Registration No.KL-04-G-5533. It is alleged that on seeing the police party, the petitioner stopped the vehicle and ran away from the vehicle.

Learned counsel for petitioner submitted that the petitioner is absolutely innocent in the matter. And that the vehicle and the sand have been seized by the police. He further submitted that the custody of the petitioner is not required for the purposes of any investigation. Public prosecutor submitted that though the sand and the lorry have been seized by the police, the presence of the petitioner is necessary for interrogation to complete the investigation into the case.

In view of the facts and circumstances of the case and considering the fact that the lorry and the sand have been recovered by the police party, Court held that the petitioner can be granted anticipatory bail subject to conditions – Petitioner shall execute bond for a sum of Rs.50,000/- with two solvent sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court, petitioner shall report before the Investigating officer whenever summoned to do so and he shall not involve in any other crime while on bail.

Click here to read the Judgment

Judgment reviewed by – Amit Singh