Kochi | The Kerala High Court on Thursday denied anticipatory bail to two Karnataka natives whose firm had supplied the huge cache of explosives seized from Malappuram district in February this year.

A bench comprising Justices Sathish Ninan and P Krishna Kumar denied relief to Mantagound Biradar (35) and Bapagoud Bheeramaya Choudri (47), saying it found no justification to grant them pre-arrest bail in view of the staggering quantity of explosives involved and their alleged attempt to prevent the tracking of their movement.

The High Court noted that the two were involved in several other criminal cases, including those registered under the Explosives Act.

"...Having regard to the gravity of the allegations levelled against them, the staggering quantity of explosives involved, and the conduct attributed to them in attempting to prevent the tracking of the movement of the explosives, we find no justification for granting them the relief of pre-arrest bail, particularly at this initial stage of the investigation," the bench said.

Police had seized 89,600 gelatin sticks and 1.05 lakh non-electric detonators from a lorry carrying onion sacks at Tirurangadi in Malappuram on February 7, 2026.

The National Investigation Agency took over the probe in April this year in view of the large quantity of explosives seized.

The bench observed that the custodial interrogation of the two accused appeared necessary for the effective progress of the investigation.

The High Court said the special NIA court had rightly rejected their application for anticipatory bail.

"Consequently, this appeal is liable to be dismissed. In the result, the appeal is dismissed," it said.

In its order, the bench observed that the material available in the case diary prima facie suggested that the two accused had intentionally aided the first accused, knowing fully well that he would use the explosives in unauthorised quarries.

According to the NIA, which is investigating the case, Biradar and Choudri are the owners of Chetan Enterprises, the firm that supplied the seized explosives.

The agency told the special court that Biradar had procured the explosives from Vetrivel Explosives and Trident Explosives in Tamil Nadu.

The NIA also told the special court that the material collected during the investigation prima facie revealed the petitioners' involvement in the alleged criminal conspiracy and pointed to the existence of a larger network behind the offence.