Cancellation Of Bail Cannot Be Limited To The Occurrence Of Supervening Circumstances : Supreme Court

Cancellation of bail cannot be limited to the occurrence of supervening circumstances, the Supreme Court observed in a judgment delivered on 20 May 2022.

The bench comprising CJI NV Ramana, Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli observed thus while it allowed appeal against a judgment of Allahabad High Court which granted bail to a murder accused.

While setting aside the bail , the bench observed that the High Court has not taken into consideration the criminal history of the Accused, nature of crime, material evidences available, involvement of the Accused in the said crime and recovery of weapon from his possession.

In the judgment, the court discusses the principles governing grant of bail and also the importance of assigning reasoning for grant or denial of bail. The court observed:

"There is prima facie need to indicate reasons particularly in cases of grant or denial of bail where the accused is charged with a serious offence. The sound reasoning in a particular case is a reassurance that discretion has been exercised by the decision maker after considering all the relevant grounds and by disregarding extraneous considerations."

The court added that the cancellation of bail cannot be limited to the occurrence of supervening circumstances.

"This Court certainly has the inherent powers and discretion to cancel the bail of an accused even in the absence of supervening circumstances. Following are the illustrative circumstances where the bail can be cancelled :-

a) Where the court granting bail takes into account irrelevant material of substantial nature and not trivial nature while ignoring relevant material on record.

b) Where the court granting bail overlooks the influential position of the accused in comparison to the victim of abuse or the witnesses especially when there is prima facie misuse of position and power over the victim.

c) Where the past criminal record and conduct of the accused is completely ignored while granting bail.

d) Where bail has been granted on untenable grounds.

e) Where serious discrepancies are found in the order granting bail thereby causing prejudice to justice.

f) Where the grant of bail was not appropriate in the first place given the very serious nature of the charges against the accused which disentitles him for bail and thus cannot be justified.

g) When the order granting bail is apparently whimsical, capricious and perverse in the facts of the given case." 

Case details

Deepak Yadav vs State of UP |  2022 LiveLaw (SC) 562 | CrA 861 OF 2022 | 20 May 2022

Coram:  CJI NV Ramana, Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli 

Headnotes

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ; Section 439 - Bail - Cancellation of Bail - Cancellation of bail cannot be limited to the occurrence of supervening circumstances - Illustrative circumstances where the bail can be cancelled :- a) Where the court granting bail takes into account irrelevant material of substantial nature and not trivial nature while ignoring relevant material on record. b) Where the court granting bail overlooks the influential position of the accused in comparison to the victim of abuse or the witnesses especially when there is prima facie misuse of position and power over the victim. 18 c) Where the past criminal record and conduct of the accused is completely ignored while granting bail. d) Where bail has been granted on untenable grounds. e) Where serious discrepancies are found in the order granting bail thereby causing prejudice to justice. f) Where the grant of bail was not appropriate in the first place given the very serious nature of the charges against the accused which disentitles him for bail and thus cannot be justified. g) When the order granting bail is apparently whimsical, capricious and perverse in the facts of the given case. (Para 30-34)

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ; Section 439 - Bail - Principles governing grant of bail - There is prima facie need to indicate reasons particularly in cases of grant or denial of bail where the accused is charged with a serious offence. The sound reasoning in a particular case is a reassurance that discretion has been exercised by the decision maker after considering all the relevant grounds and by disregarding extraneous considerations. (Para 19-29)

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