Introduction

Any individual, who violates the law of the land, is bound to face consequences as per the law and in such a case, his freedom may be restricted depending upon the gravity of offence as such committed. Every accused that has been frivolously charged with the allegations of a non- bailable offence is not only entitled to a good defense but also to be released on bail, by the Court. The court contemplates various factors before deciding the case fit for bail such as nature or seriousness of the offence, the character of the evidence, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public or the state and similar other factors.

It is the solemn duty of the Court to decide the bail applications at the earliest by a reasoned order, based on the bona fides[i] of the applicant in light of prevailing facts and circumstances. And these prevailing facts and circumstances becomes the condition for bail.

1. Meaning of Bail:

Cambridge Dictionary subtly defines bail as, an amount of money that a person who has been accused of a crime pays to a law court so that they can be released until their trial[ii]. The payment is a way of making certain that the person will return to court for trial.

Bail is the temporary release of a prisoner[iii] in exchange for security given for the prisoner's appearance at a later hearing, as per the Merriam Webster (dictionary)

Basically Bail is a sum of money that an arrested person or someone else puts forward as a guarantee that the arrested person will attend their trial in a law court. If the arrested person does not attend it, the money will be lost.

2. Bail as per Indian Law

Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973 empowers the Court to impose certain conditions deeming fit at the time of granting bail.

The Criminal Procedure Code clear the bail process and how it is obtained. However, it does not define bail. To get a glimpse of the law, one needs to go deeper to section 2(a) of Criminal Procedure Code wherein it says that bailable offense means an offense which is shown as bailable in the First Schedule or which is made bailable by any other law for the time being enforce, and non-bailable offense means any other offense.

Thus, section 2(a) of Criminal Procedure Code 1973 talks about schedule which refers to all the offenses under the Indian Penal Code and puts them into bailable and on bailable categories which have been determined according to the nature of the crime. For instance, all serious offenses like offenses punishable with imprisonment for three years or more have seen considered as non bailable offenses, all other offenses have been kept bailable offenses.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of State of Maharashtra vs. Sitaram Popat Vita has stated few factors to be taken into consideration, before granting bail, namely:

2.1 The nature of accusation[iv]and the severity of punishment in case of conviction and the nature of supporting evidence

2.2 Reasonable apprehension[v] of tampering of the witness or apprehension of threat to the complainant

2.3 Prima facie satisfaction of the Court in support of the charge.

3. First Off

A person accused of a crime may be freed from detention pending trial under the legal notion of bail. Bail is primarily intended to safeguard the community from potential damage and to guarantee the accused appearance in court. A court may place restrictions on the person release when it granted bail. These requirements are intended to address particular worries about the accused potential for escape, public safety, and committing new crimes while awaiting trial.

4. Types of Bail Conditions

There are commonly 3 types of bail in India which a person can apply depending upon the stage of the criminal matter:

4.1. Regular Bail: A regular bail can be granted to a person who has already been arrested and kept in police custody. A person can file a bail application for regular bail under Section 437 and 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973.

4.2. Interim Bail: Interim bail is a bail granted for a short period of time. Interim bail is granted to an accused before the hearing for the grant of regular bail or anticipatory bail.

4.3 . Anticipatory Bail: A person, who discerns that he may be arrested by the police for a non- bailable offence, can file an application for anticipatory bail. It is like an advance bail obtained under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973. A bail under Section 438 is a bail before arrest and a person cannot be arrested by the police if the anticipatory bail has been granted by the court.

5. Condition impose while granting Bail:

The Conditions impose while granting Bail serves the dual purpose of ensuring accused appearance in court and protecting the community.

These conditions can very widely depending on the nature of the charges, the individual criminal history and the specific circumstances of the cases.

By tailoring the Conditions to address the specific concerns relating to flight risk, public safety and the livelihood of reoffending, court aim to strike a balance between the rights of the accused and the interest of Justice.

Example: provide illustrate the practical application of these conditions in different scenarios, highlighting their importance in the Criminal Justice System.

In case of bailable offence, bail is a matter of right on the part of accused, while in case of non-bailable offence, bail is a matter of discretion to be exercised by Court. As per Section 437(3) of Criminal Procedure Code (hereinafter Cr.PC). the court while granting bail may impose such conditions as prescribed and in furtherance may also impose any such condition as it considers necessary in the interest of justice.

It is evident that Hon'ble Court is having discretion to impose any such conditions as it considers necessary in the interest of justice, but it must be kept in mind that such discretion cannot be exercised in an arbitrary manner overlooking the settled principle of law.

5.1. Condition for bailable offence

Section 436 of the Section 437 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 lays down that a person accused of any bailable offence under the Indian Penal Code 1860, can be released on bail. Bailable offences falling under the Indian Penal Code 1860.

In any of the above-mentioned offences, a person can apply for bail. However, there are certain conditions on which a bail can be granted in case the person is arrested or is likely to be arrested for a bailable offence:

5.1.(a). There are sufficient reasons to believe that the accused has not committed the offence.

5.1.(b). If, as per the court, there is sufficient reason to conduct further enquiry in the matter.

5.1.(c). The person is not accused of any crime for which is punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment up to 10 years.

5.2. Condition for non-bailable offence

An accused does not have the right to apply for bail in case of a non-bailable offence. The power to release a person on bail in a non-bailable offence lies with the court. Section 437 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 lays down the power of court to grant a bail to a person even in a non- bailable offence.

A person can apply for a bail in non-bailable offence. The conditions on which the court grants a bail in a non-bailable offence are as follows:

5.2.(a). That all the allegations leveled against the applicant are false, frivolous in nature and is a complaint which has been filed with a motive to harass the accused/ applicant.

5.2.(b). That the applicant is a citizen of India having no criminal record and clean antecedents.

5.2.(c) That there is no iota of evidence which can point at the commission of the alleged offence by the accused/ applicant.

5.2.(d). That the accused/ applicant is the sole bread earner of his family and subjecting him to incarceration in a false complaint would not only ruin his life but will simultaneously have adverse impact on the lives of his wife and children.

5.2.(e). That the accused is not an imminent danger to the public tranquility and safety.

5.2.(f). That the accused/ applicant undertakes to fully co operate with investigating agencies and ensure his presence before the Ld. Court as and when required to do so.

5.2.(g). That the accused/applicant would not engage in destruction and tampering of evidence if he is released on bail.

5.2.(h). That the accused/ applicant would not be detrimental to the prosecutrix in any manner and would not threaten the prosecutrix or any other family member of the prosecutrix.

5.2.(i). That no purpose would be solved if the accused is incarcerated.

5.2.(j). That the applicant will not attempt to escape the clutches of law, if released on bail.

5.2.(k). That the applicant further undertakes to abide by all the conditions as the Hon'ble Court may deem fit in grant of bail to the accused/applicant.

5.2.(l). That no such application is pending before any other Court in the territory of India including the Apex Court.

6. Recent Judgments

6.1. In the case of Ayub v. State of M.P., wherein lower Court granted bail to accused by imposing a condition to deposit Rs. 2,50,000/- which was the alleged amount of misappropriation was held to be an arbitrary condition by Hon'ble Apex Court as it vitiates the very nature of trial and the conditional order granting bail by the lower Court was modified accordingly.

6.2. In the case of Sumit Mehta v. State of N.C.T. of Delhi, where High Court granted bail to accused on a condition to deposit Rs. 10,000,000/- as a fix deposit in the name of complainant in any nationalized bank was held onerous and unreasonable by Hon'ble Supreme Court as it was feeble condition having no nexus with the objective of granting bail. It was held that judicial discretion of imposing condition while granting bail must be exercised in such a manner that it does not hinders the trial pending before competent Court.

6.3. Recently Hon'ble Jharkhand High Court in the matter of Som Marandi v. State of Jharkhand, granted bail to the applicant on condition that he shall deposit Rs. 35,000/- in PM Cares fund and also download Aarogya Setu App with immediate effect. Further almost similar condition was imposed by Hon'ble Bombay High Court while granting bail to applicant, accused of manhandling Bombay Municipal Corporation worker as to deposit Rs. 25,000/- in CM Relief Fund.

6.4. Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the matter of Dheeraj Malhotra v. State of NCT of Delhi, while granting bail imposed a condition that applicant shall make video call every Friday to Investigating Officer and shall also 'drop a pin' on Google Map so that Investigating Officer can verify applicant location.

When an offence qualifies as bailable, the accused has the right to get bail; when an offence qualifies as non-bailable, the court has the power to determine whether to grant bail. According to Section 437(3) of the Cr.P.C., the court may impose whatever restrictions it deems necessary in the interest of justice in addition to the stipulated requirements while granting bail.

6.5. It is clear that the Hon'ble Court has the authority to impose any restrictions that it deems appropriate in the interest of justice, but it is important to remember that this authority cannot be used arbitrarily at the expense of established legal principles.

It was decided that the imposition of conditions during the bail process must be done so as not to interfere with the ongoing trial before the appropriate court.

7. Conclusion

In a recently judgment, the Supreme Court has held that High Courts and Sessions Court have power to grant interim/transit anticipatory bail even if the (FIR) First Information Report has been registered in any other state.

8.Citation

[i] bona fide. adj. Latin for "good faith," it signifies honesty, the "real thing" and, in the case of a party claiming title as bona fide purchaser or holder, it indicates innocence or lack of knowledge of any fact that would cast doubt on the right to hold title.

[ii] A trial is a formal meeting in a law court, at which a judge and jury listen to evidence and decide whether a person is guilty of a crime.

[iii] A prisoner is someone being held in confinement. Commonly, a prisoner is a criminal who is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of a crime, or a person who has been arrested by law enforcement and is being held in custody pending trial, whether or not the person is in prison, jail or other confinement.

[iv] An accusation is informally stating that a person has committed an illegal or immoral act.

[v] The fair and reasonable estimation of the value of an item. The increase in the financial worth of an asset as compared to its value at a particular earlier date as a result of inflation or greater market demand.