BAIL
PROVISIONS IN INDIA - POLITY
News:
Is new law on bail being
drawn up, Supreme Court asks Centre
What's
in the news?
●
Pushing for objectivity and accountability
in the criminal justice system to prevent needless arrests, the Supreme Court
has directed the Union government to inform it whether a new law to facilitate
the grant of bail is in the works.
Key
takeaways:
●
A bench of justices MM Sundresh and SVN
Bhatti referred to its July 2022 judgment in which it had called upon the
Centre to consider framing a new law on bail for warding off unnecessary
arrests, especially in cases where the maximum punishment under the alleged
offence is up to seven years in jail.
Bail:
●
The term ‘bail’ originated from an old French verb ‘bailer’ which means ‘to
give’ or ‘to deliver’.
●
Bail refers to the provisional release of
the accused in a criminal case in
which the court is yet to announce the
judgment.
●
The term ‘bail’ means the security that is deposited in order to
secure the release of the accused.
Types
of Bail in India:
●
The
Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) does not define the word bail.
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The CrPC was first drafted in 1882 and
continues to be in use with amendments from time to time.
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Depending upon the stage of the criminal
matter, there are commonly three types of bail in India:
Regular
Bail:
○
A regular bail is generally granted to a
person who has been arrested or is in police
custody.
○
A bail application can be filed for the
regular bail under section 437 and 439 of CrPC.
Interim
Bail:
○
This type of bail is granted for a short period of time and it is granted
before the hearing for the grant of regular bail or anticipatory bail.
Anticipatory
Bail:
○
Anticipatory bail is granted under section
438 of CrPC either by session court or High Court.
○
An application for the grant of
anticipatory bail can be filed by the person who discerns that he may be arrested by the police for a non- bailable
offence.
Conditions
for Grant of Bail in Bailable/Non-Bailable Offences:
Bailable
Offences:
●
There are sufficient reasons to believe that the accused has not committed the
offence.
●
There is sufficient reason to conduct
further enquiry in the matter.
●
The person is not accused of any offence punishable with death, life imprisonment or
imprisonment up to 10 years.
Non-bailable
Offences:
●
If the accused is a woman or a child, bail can be granted in a
non-bailable offence.
●
If there is lack of evidence then bail in non-Bailable offences can be granted.
●
If there is delay in lodging FIR by the
complainant, bail may be granted.
●
If the accused is gravely sick.
Cancellation
of Bail:
●
Court
has the power to cancel the bail even at a later stage.
●
The Court can cancel the bail granted by
it and give directions to the police officer to arrest the person and keep in
police custody.
Bail
as a Exception and Not a Rule:
●
Legislations which prescribe an alternate
criminal law framework, such as the NDPS
Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering
Act make bail the exception, rather than the rule.
●
Union
of India v. K. A. Najeeb Case (2021):
○
In the above judgement, the Supreme Court
had granted bail to an accused facing incarceration for an extended period
“with little possibility of early completion of trial” under the UAPA.
○
Section 43-D of UAPA, reverses the burden
of proof on the accused and says that a court can reject bail if a prima facie
case exists against the accused.