Bail & Related matters

A trial court is empowered to cancel bail granted by a superior court upon any violation of the bail conditions. This principle was affirmed by the Supreme Court in The State of Karnataka v. Vinay Rajashekharappa Kulkarni.

The Supreme Court has laid down the principles regarding appeals against the grant of bail in its judgment in Ashok Dhankad v. State of NCT of New Delhi and Anr [2025 INSC 974].

A great ignominy, humiliation and disgrace is attached to arrest. Arrest leads to many serious consequences not only for the accused but for the entire family and at times for the entire community, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Bhadresh Bipinbhai Sheth v State of Gujarat & Another [ AIR 2015 SC 3090].

Informing an arrested person clearly and effectively of the grounds for his/her arrest is a fundamental right under Article 22(1) of the Constitution and the right to live with dignity is a part of the rights guaranteed under Article 21, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Vihaan Kumar v The State of Haryana & Another [2025 INSC 162].

The Supreme Court (SC) says, in Priya Indoria v State of Karnataka, that High Courts and Sessions Court have power to grant interim/transit anticipatory bail even when the First Information Report (FIR) has been registered in another State.

The Supreme Court (SC), in Sheikh Javed Iqbal @ Ashfaq Ansari @ Javed Ansari v. State of Uttar Pradesh, says that a constitutional court cannot be restrained from granting bail to an accused on account of restrictive statutory provisions in a penal statute if it finds that the right of the accused-undertrial under Article 21 of the Constitution of India has been infringed.

The Supreme Court (SC) says that the High Courts and Trial Courts have forgotten that bail cannot be denied as a punishment, in its judgement in Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh v The State Of Maharashtra.

Default bail under Section 167(2) of the Criminal Procedures Code, 1973 (CrPC) can be granted to an accused based on an oral application alone, and no physical copy or written application is needed for seeking default bail, says High court of Kerala in a judgement in Akshay v State of Kerala [ 2023(1) KLT SN 44 (C No 38)].

In a recent judgement in Md. Asfak Alam v The State of Jharkhand, the Supreme Court (SC) re-issues directions to all courts in the country reiterating the directions already issued in Arnesh Kumar v State of Bihar and Another.

After the dismissal of anticipatory bail application by the High Court (HC), a petitioner cannot file a subsequent anticipatory bail application, pointing out changes in circumstances, before the Sessions Court (SC). This is what the High Court of Kerala directs in Bipin Sunny v State of Kerala [ 2023 (5) KHC 125].

The Supreme Court in Teesta Atul Setalvad v State of Gujarat states that the factors, which are essentially considered at the stage of granting of bail under Sections 437 and 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, are: Whether the prima facia case is established The possibility of the accused tampering with the evidence or influencing the witness The possibility of the accused fleeing away from the hands of justice, and The gravity and the seriousness of the offence

Even if the High Court is not inclined to grant anticipatory bail while considering the application for anticipatory bail, it can grant protection from arrest for some time, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Nathu Singh and Another v State of UP and Others.