Bail Can Be Cancelled If Accused Has Taken Advantage Of Liberty Granted To Him: Kerala HC Reiterates

The Kerala High Court while reiterating the grounds for cancellation of bail recently observed that the Special Judge was justified in canceling bail as the Petitioner had violated the condition of bail that was granted to him and got involved in a similar crime.

While acknowledging the fact that the superior court can set aside the order of cancellation of bail under Section 439 Cr.P.C. on grounds of unjustified, perverse, or illegal order, the Single Judge Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V reiterated that “the grounds for cancellation of bail, broadly (illustrative and not exhaustive) are interference or attempt to interfere with the due course of administration of justice or evasion or attempt to evade the due course of justice or abuse of the concession granted to the accused in any manner. The satisfaction of the court, on the basis of material placed on the record of the possibility of the accused absconding, is yet another reason justifying the cancellation of bail”.

However, the Bench clarified that bail, once granted, should not be canceled in a mechanical manner without considering whether any supervening circumstances have rendered it no longer conducive to a fair trial to allow the accused to retain his freedom by enjoying the concession of bail during the trial.

Advocate P. Mohamed Sabah appeared for the Petitioner, whereas Senior Public Prosecutor Vipin Narayan appeared for the Respondents.

In a nutshell, the Petitioner was granted bail for the first crime committed under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) and Section 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. While granting bail the Court among other conditions had also ordered that upon involvement in other crimes, the investigating officer can file an application for cancellation of bail. The Petitioner got involved in another crime, hence the investigating officer after taking note of the same, approached the Special Judge which ordered for the cancellation of bail. Hence, the present petition is filed to set aside such cancellation order by invoking jurisdiction under Section 482 on the ground that cancellation was done merely on the ground that there was a registration of a subsequent crime.

After the perusal of the facts, the High Court reiterated various judgments related to grounds of cancellation of bail and held that the Petitioner had in fact misused the liberty of being on bail.

While observing that the Special Judge was justified for passing orders of cancellation of bail, the Bench also clarified that such order shall not interfere with the Petitioner approaching the jurisdictional court to apply for regular bail. Para 19

Finally, while directing that if the Petitioner files for regular bail, principles governing the grant of bail under the NDPS Act and the grounds laid down in Deepak Yadav v. State of U.P. (2022) 8 SCC 559) can be considered, the High Court dismissed the petition.

Cause Title: Navas v. The State of Kerala & Ors.

Click here to read/download the judgment