Kerala High Court: In a bail plea filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (‘BNSS’) 2023, by the founder of MS Solutions, Shuhaib, who was charged with leaking State Board Class 10 Question Papers through his YouTube channel, the Single Judge Bench of P.V. Kunhikrishnan, J. granted him bail subject to certain conditions.
Background
Shuhaib was facing charges under Sections 316(2), 316(3), 316(5), 318(2), 318(4), 61(2)(a), and 3(5), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (‘BNS’), 2023. The case arose from an allegation that Shuhaib, was involved in leaking question papers for examinations. According to the complaint, the Commissioner of Examinations and Director of the General Education Department had reported that the questions for the Second Terminal Examination of 2023 and the First and Second Terminal Examinations of 2024 had been prematurely released on a YouTube channel owned by Shuhaib under the title ‘question prediction.
The complaint stated that the questions released in these videos were the same as those appearing in the actual exams, indicating a leak. The videos, which had been uploaded hours before the examinations, showed predictions of questions across various subjects. The channel, ‘MS Solutions’, had allegedly facilitated this by sharing the leaked questions.
Following the complaint, the Crime Branch initiated a preliminary inquiry led by a special team under the supervision of the Superintendent of Police. The preliminary report had recommended the registration of a case, leading to the approval of the Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch, to proceed with the investigation. Consequently, a case had been registered by the Crime Branch Police Station, and the case had been entrusted to the Crime Branch, Kozhikode Unit for further investigation.
Analysis and Decision
The Court noted that the consideration of a bail application under Sections 482 and 483 of the BNSS was distinct. The Court had previously considered the petitioner’s bail application under Section 482 BNSS and dismissed it through a detailed order. Following the dismissal of the bail application, the petitioner surrendered. The petitioner was subsequently interrogated by the Investigating Officer after being taken into custody and has been in jail since 06-03-2025. No criminal antecedents were alleged against the petitioner, and the Court noted that indefinite incarceration was not necessary. The petitioner could be directed to cooperate with the investigation.
Moreover, the Court reiterated the well-established principle that bail is the rule, and jail is the exception.1
The Court took note of Jalaluddin Khan v. Union of India, (2024) 10 SCC 574, wherein the Court held that when a case is made out for a grant of bail, the Courts should not have any hesitation in granting bail. The allegations of the prosecution may be very serious. But the duty of the Courts is to consider the case for grant of bail in accordance with the law. “Bail is the rule and jail is an exception” is a settled law.
Thus, the Court granted bail to Shuhaib subject to certain conditions.
[Shuhaib K v. State of Kerala, 2025 SCC OnLine Ker 1837, decided on 28-03-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For Petitioner: S. Rajeev V.Vinay M.S.Aneer Sarath K.P. Anilkumar C.R. K.S.Kiran Krishnan Dipa V. M.Muhammed Firdouse
For Respondent: Public Prosecutor
1. P. Chidambaram v. Directorate of Enforcement, (2020) 13 SCC 791.
