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A Supreme Court judgment said an accused denied anticipatory bail can, in exceptional circumstances, still be given protection from immediate arrest if his sudden incarceration by the State will plunge his personal affairs and family into crisis
Highlights
- An accused, besides being an accused, may also be the primary caregiver or sole breadwinner of the family.
- His arrest may leave his loved ones in a state of starvation and neglect. In such “exceptional” cases, Chief Justice Ramana observed that courts had the power to allow an accused, while dismissing his anticipatory bail plea, to retain his personal liberty for “some time” — the shortest duration reasonably required — in order to make arrangements for his family before surrendering in the trial court.
- The grant or rejection of bail in such cases had a direct bearing on the fundamental right to life and liberty of an individual.
- The concept of anticipatory bail germinated from Article 21 of the Constitution.
Anticipatory bail
- This provision allows a person to seek bail in anticipation of an arrest on accusation of having committed a non-bailable offence.
- Anticipatory bail is a direction to release a person on bail, issued even before the person is arrested. It is only issued by the Sessions Court and High Court.
Source: The Hindu
