The Kerala High Court recently granted bail to three persons accused of trespassing and vandalising an advocate's office at Haripad [Vijith & ors v State of Kerala & anr]..Justice PV Kunhikrishnan acknowledged that the allegations against the accused persons were serious but also noted that the maximum punishment prescribed for the alleged offences was only seven years.The judge went on to observe that the Supreme Court, in the 2014 Arnesh Kumar case has held that courts should take a lenient view when it comes to the grant of bail in cases involving offences punishable with imprisonment of seven years or less. The High Court further noted that bail is the rule and the jail, as recently reminded by the Supreme Court in the Manish Sisodia case, and that custodial detention is not meant to serve as punishment.Therefore, the Court granted bail to the three accused men, despite strong opposition by both the State as well as the Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA) which intervened in the matter. .The Court also appreciated the KHCAA for intervening in the matter and coming out in support of a fellow lawyer. "I am happy to see that, when there is a grievance to a lawyer, the lawyer community is coming together and even the High Court Association is taking steps to support the lawyer community. The same is to be appreciated," it said. .The case concerns an incident that took place on November 25, 2024, when a group of men is alleged to have trespassed into the rented office of a lawyer, vandalised his belongings, and thrown out his files, coat, and name board.It was also alleged that the accused took away financial documents and caused a loss of ₹30,700 to the lawyer. Subsequently, the accused were arrested under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNS), including Section 331(4) (punishment for house-trespass) and Section 305(a) (theft committed in a building, tent, or vessel used as a human dwelling or for the custody of property), both offences carrying a maximum penalty of seven years.Those who were arrested in the case on November 29 included Vijith VC, Manmadhan G, and Sundaram TV. The Court granted them bail on December 12, but not before criticising their alleged conduct. "If the defacto complainant (lawyer whose office was vandalised) is occupying a room of the petitioners (accused) without any authority, their remedy is to approach the jurisdictional civil court. The petitioners have no right to take law into their hands," the Court said..Advocates P Vijayakumar and B Harrylal represented the petitioners, while Senior Public Prosecutor Noushad KA appeared for the State. Advocate Yeshwanth Shenoy represented the KHCAA as an intervenor in the matter..[Read Order]
