CSR Funds Scam: Kerala High Court Allows Consolidated Bail Bonds For Accused Facing Over 1300 Cases

The Kerala High Court recently (November 13) allowed an accused, facing over 1,300 criminal cases across the State in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Scam, to secure his release on bail by executing single district-wise surety bonds, instead of separate bonds in each case.Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas delivered the judgment while allowing the petition filed by K N Anadakumar, who has been in judicial custody since his arrest on February 11, 2025. According to the State, a total of 1,343 criminal cases have been registered against the petitioner, mostly relating to an alleged statewide scam involving promises of delivering goods at half price using purported CSR funds and NGO contributions.Although the High Court had previously granted bail in 738 cases where the petitioner's arrest had been recorded, he continued to remain incarcerated due to the requirement of producing separate bail bonds with two solvent sureties before multiple Magistrate Courts having jurisdiction across Kerala.The petitioner argued that, because his cases were scattered across almost every district, complying with the bail conditions had become practically impossible, both for himself and for the sureties permitted by the Court.The Court relied on Girish Gandhi v. State of Uttar Pradesh [(2024) 10 SCC 674], which held that “excessive bail is no bail,” and emphasised that courts must ensure that bail conditions do not nullify the protection of personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.The Court observed that the liberty granted to the petitioner through prior bail orders had become illusory. “As many as 1343 crimes are registered against the petitioner and he has been arrested in most of those cases and no further arrest is required, as submitted by the learned Public Prosecutor. In all cases where he has been arrested, he has obtained bail. However, he continues to languish in jail. The liberty granted to him through various bail orders remains illusory.” the Bench noted.The bench examined the Sections 484 to 496 of BNSS and observed that section 484 stipulated the amount of every bond shall be fixed with due regard to the circumstances of the case and shall not be excessive and the High Court or the Sessions Court can even direct that the bail required by the Magistrate or the police officer be reducedThe Court noted that in spite of the petitioner being granted bail, he has not been able to obtain his release from custody due to the difficulty in executing the surety bonds in each case. “Executing surety bond in each case pending before the different Magistrate's Court would entail the sureties to be present before each Court. Since in most of the cases where bail has been granted, the same sureties have been permitted, considering the large volume of cases and the different Courts where those are pending, it may take several months for completing the said process. This exercise would lead to untold misery for a person who has been granted bail already.” the bench observed. The Court thus noted that an exceptional circumstance has arisen where the Court must ensure that the petitioner enjoys the liberty granted by the Court without being subjected to excessive or onerous procedural obstacles that undermine the purpose of granting bail. The Court held that the execution of a single surety bond by each of the sureties to the petitioner in any one of the cases registered against him within a district, can be treated as representing surety bonds in respect of the sureties in all the cases registered against him in that district, which would serve the purpose of having surety bonds. “This would give succor to the difficulties projected by the petitioner without undermining the requirement of ensuring his presence in the Court as and when required.” the Court noted.It thus directed the petitioner to execute a single surety bond of a value of Rs. Five lakh each, within each district in one of the selected cases. The surety bond so executed shall be treated as sufficient bonds in respect of each individual crime registered against the petitioner in that district. The sureties are directed to file an affidavit before each concerned Magistrate Court confirming that the bond covers every individual case in that district.The Court clarified that this remedy was being granted solely due to the peculiar circumstance in the case.Case Title: K N Anand Kumar v State of KeralaCase No: WP(Crl.) 1183/ 2025Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 749Counsel for Petitioner: S Rajeev, Raajesh S SubramanianCounsel for Respondents: P Narayanan (Spl. GP)Click Here To Read/ Download Judgment

CSR Funds Scam: Kerala High Court Allows Consolidated Bail Bonds For Accused Facing Over 1300 Cases

Anamika MJ

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