Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Types of Bail in India

Mains level: Prison reforms in India

bail

Central Idea: The Supreme Court emphasized that orders in bail cases should adhere to the constitutional principle of personal liberty.

Supreme Court on Bail

Short debates: Prolonged debates on bail may prejudice the accused in their case.
Upholding liberty: Delays in pronouncing bail decisions impinge on the personal liberty of the undertrial.
No extensive discussions and elaborations: The Supreme Court highlights the significance of brevity (state of being brief, concise) in bail orders.
No early delving into case details: Long orders may unnecessarily delve into the details of the case, which is not appropriate at the bail stage.
Ensuring fairness and impartiality: Such brevity ensures that the case is not unduly influenced or prejudiced during the bail proceedings.
Promptness in pronouncing bail decisions: The Court emphasized the need for prompt pronouncement of bail decisions. Every day of waiting affects the personal liberty of the undertrial.

What is Bail?

Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
The term also means the security that is deposited in order to secure the release of the accused.

Depending upon the sage of the criminal matter, there are commonly three types of bail in India:

Regular bail: 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 offense.

Section 436 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, lays down that a person accused of a bailable offence under IPC can be granted bail if:

There are sufficient reasons to believe that the accused has not committed the offence.
There is sufficient reason to conduct a further inquiry in the matter.
The person is not accused of any offence punishable with death, life imprisonment or imprisonment up to 10 years.

Section 437 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 lays down that the accused does not have the right to apply for bail in non-bailable offences.
It is discretion of the court to grant bail in case of non-bailable offences if:

The accused is a woman or a child, bail can be granted in a non-bailable offence.
There is a lack of evidence then bail in non-Bailable offenses can be granted.
There is a delay in lodging FIR by the complainant, bail may be granted.
The accused is gravely sick.

Huge pendency of undertrials: Referring to the state of jails in the country, where over two-thirds lodged are undertrials,
Indiscriminate arrests: Of this category of prisoners, majority may not even be required to be arrested despite registration of a cognizable offense, being charged with offenses punishable for seven years or less.
Disadvantageous for some sections: They are not only poor and illiterate but also would include women. Thus, there is a culture of offense being inherited by many of them.
Colonial legacy: Theoretically, the court also linked the idea of indiscriminate arrests to magistrates ignoring the rule of “bail, not jail” to a colonial mindset.

The CrPC does not define the word bail but only categories offences under the Indian Penal Code as ‘bailable’ and ‘non-bailable’.
The CrPC empowers magistrates to grant bail for bailable offences as a matter of right.
This would involve release on furnishing a bail bond, without or without security.

Bail Law would certainly take care of not only the unwarranted arrests but also the clogging of bail applications before various courts.
With restrictive bail conditions and a conservative view on bail, we may forget the meaning of personal liberty, which is the greatest of human freedoms enjoyed in India.