Kerala HC Dismisses Anticipatory Bail of Man Who Allegedly Threatened to Kill Investigating Officer via Social Media
The High Court of Kerala refused pre-arrest bail to a man accused of posting death threats and sexually explicit messages targeting a police officer and his family on social media.
Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath, sitting singly at the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam, on 3 August 2026 dismissed an application for pre-arrest bail filed by Arjun A, a 26-year-old resident of Kannur. The court found the allegations prima facie serious and premeditated, and held that custodial interrogation of the applicant was necessary at this stage of the investigation. The case involves social media posts that allegedly included a threat to kill an investigating officer and sexually explicit messages directed at the officer’s wife and sister.
The Dispute Before the High Court
Arjun A is the sole accused in Crime No. 790/2026, registered by Kothamangalam Police Station, Ernakulam District. The offences alleged against him are punishable under Sections 75(1)(iv), 356 and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; Sections 120(o) and 117(e) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011; and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
According to the prosecution, Arjun A was already the accused No. 1 in a separate case — Crime No. 665/2026 — also registered by Kothamangalam Police Station. The de facto complainant in Crime No. 790/2026 is the investigating officer who had arrested and remanded Arjun A to judicial custody in that earlier matter. The prosecution alleges that Arjun A, motivated by enmity arising from that arrest, made posts on social media threatening to kill the officer. It is further alleged that the officer’s wife and sister — both women — were subjected to sexually explicit messages through social media.
After the Sessions Court at Ernakulam declined bail, Arjun A approached the High Court under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking pre-arrest bail. The annexures placed before the court included a copy of a Facebook post published from the petitioner’s account, screenshots of the offending publications, and orders passed in earlier bail applications before the Sessions Court in May and June 2026.
The Legal Issue: When Can Section 482 BNSS Be Invoked?
Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is the provision governing anticipatory bail under the new criminal procedure code. The court reiterated that pre-arrest bail cannot be granted as a matter of course. The power under Section 482 can be exercised only when a special case is made out, and the court must record reasons for doing so.
Counsel for the applicant, Smt. Devika K.R., argued that Arjun A was innocent and had been falsely implicated, and that no material on record connected him to the alleged crime. Sri. V. Vinay, the learned Senior Public Prosecutor appearing for the State, countered that the alleged acts were intentional criminal acts, and that releasing the applicant at this stage would affect the course of the investigation. The Prosecutor also pointed to the risk of the applicant influencing witnesses if released.
How the Court Reasoned
Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath perused the case diary before arriving at his conclusions. The court found that the accusation against the applicant was very serious in nature and that it prima facie showed a premeditated criminal act on his part. On the content of the social media post itself, the court held that a reading of the post would show that it is prima facie defamatory in character.
The court took note of the stage of the investigation. It observed that the investigation was still at a preliminary stage and that custodial interrogation of the applicant was necessary for the investigation to proceed. The court accepted the prosecution’s submission that the possibility of the applicant influencing witnesses and interfering with the investigation could not be ruled out if he were released on bail.
Taking the gravity of the offence and the stage of the investigation together, the court concluded that this was not a fit case for the exercise of the extraordinary jurisdiction vested in the High Court under Section 482 of BNSS.
Outcome
The bail application in B.A. No. 3377 of 2026 was dismissed by Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath on 3 August 2026. The order was delivered on the same day the application came up for admission.