BAIL
CONDITION - POLITY
News:
Explained: When the
Supreme Court stepped in against bail conditions imposed by various high courts
What's
in the news?
●
The recent ruling by the Supreme Court
overturned the order of the Odisha High Court stating that imposing a condition
for a politician to refrain from participating in political activities in
exchange for bail would infringe upon fundamental rights.
Key
takeaways:
Bail
on Condition:
●
The High Court has stipulated that Das
should not engage in any political activity as a condition of his bail.
Infringes
Right:
●
The petitioner Das contested this
condition in the High Court as it infringed upon his rights as a political
person, especially considering the upcoming general elections.
Opposition
from the State Government:
●
The state government opposed the plea,
citing Das’s involvement in new criminal cases and an attack against him, which
they argued could lead to administrative difficulties if the bail condition
were lifted.
●
The High Court, acknowledging the
potential threat to Das’s life and the administrative challenges, upheld the
bail condition.
●
Das appealed to the Supreme Court against
the High Court’s decision.
Supreme
Court Ruling:
●
It stated that preventing a person from
participating in political activities as a bail condition violates their
fundamental rights under the Constitution.
●
As a result, the Supreme Court quashed and
set aside the condition, emphasizing that bail conditions should not violate
constitutional rights.
Go
back to basics:
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.
●
The CrPC was first drafted in 1882 and
continues to be in use with amendments from time to time.
●
Depending upon the stage of the criminal
matter, there are commonly three types of bail in India such as
1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
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:
1.
Conditions for Bail in 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.
2.
Conditions for Bail in 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
is an 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.