Can the accused abroad be granted anticipatory bail? matter left to Division Bench; Single bench disagrees with verdict in Vijay Babu case

KOCHI: A single bench of the High Court on Monday expressed disagreement with another bench's decision to grant anticipatory bail to actor and producer Vijay Babu, who filed the anticipatory bail plea from Dubai. Justice PV Kunhikrishnan expressed disagreement while considering an anticipatory bail plea of a woman who was named an accused in a POCSO case at the Koippuram police station. Justice PV Kunhikrishnan then referred the matter to a division bench.

Justice Kunhikrishnan said that he did not agree with another bench's action of issuing a restraining order against the arrest of Vijay Babu in the sexual assault case after the accused filed an anticipatory bail plea from abroad. He also pointed out that another single bench had ruled in the SM Shafi case in 2020 that an accused, who was abroad, could not be granted anticipatory bail in the High Court.

Although the bench of Justice Kunhikrishnan had earlier decided to dismiss the woman's anticipatory bail application in the POCSO case on the ground that the accused was in Kuwait, it had not issued an order. The verdict in Vijay Babu's anticipatory bail plea came in the meanwhile. Justice Kunhikrishnan said that he disagreed with the verdict in the Vijay Babu case while considering the woman's plea on Monday.

The single bench sought the division bench's decision on:

• whether the High Court could consider the anticipatory bail of the accused who had gone abroad
• whether the court can grant interim anticipatory bail to such accused
• whether the court can issue a restraining order against his arrest.

The woman was granted interim bail until the division bench comes up with its decision.