COVID Is Not Panacea For All Cases Of Arrest To Get Bail, Regardless Of Nature Of Accusation: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Friday observed that apprehension of COVID cannot be cited as a ground for bail in all cases, regardless of the nature and gravity of the offence. The vacation bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Aniruddha Bose was considering an SLP against the April order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court denying anticipatory bail to the petitioner, a hotel owner, in connection...
The Supreme Court on Friday observed that apprehension of COVID cannot be cited as a ground for bail in all cases, regardless of the nature and gravity of the offence.
"If the petitioner fails to do so, the Senior Superintendent of Police, District - S.A.S. Mohali, Punjab shall ensure that appropriate steps are taken for arrest of the petitioner", the bench directed.
The bench also required the SSP to submit compliance report to the Apex Court within a week from Friday.
It may be noted that the Allahabad High Court recently ruled that apprehension of death on account of reasons like the present pandemic is a valid ground for grant of anticipatory bail. The HC went to the extent of saying that "the allegations may be serious against an accused but the presumption of innocence in his favour cannot be dispelled only on the basis of the allegation".
"An accused who has not been subjected to trial and not even police investigation has been completed, cannot be compelled to surrender and obtain regular bail in the current circumstances. Even in cases where the police report has been submitted under Section 173(2) Cr.P.C., and summons/ warrants have been issued against him, such an accused is also required to be protected", the HC has said. The HC even stated that "established parameters for grant of anticipatory bail like the nature and gravity of accusation, etc have now lost significance on account of present situation of the country".
In the said case, the HC granted anticipatory bail to an accused under Sections 420, 467 (which envisages a life sentence also), 468, 471, 506, 406 IPC.
The State of UP has moved the Supreme Court challenging this order of the Allahabad High Court. SG Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter on Tuesday before a Bench headed by Justice Vineet Saran submitting that the accused was a conman and had been granted anticipatory bail solely on the basis of COVID-19. The Bench agreed to hear the matter next week.