Supreme Court Reiterates Considerations While Dealing With Bail Applications In Cases Involving Serious Offences

A Bench of the Supreme Court consisting of Justices Dr. DY Chandrachud and Justice MR Shah set aside an Order issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Ludhiana and observed that assessing the correctness of an order granting bail stand on a different footing from an assessment of an application for cancellation of bail.

Referring to its early decisions, the bench noted, "......the correctness of an order granting bail is tested on the anvil of whether there was a proper or arbitrary exercise of the discretion in the grant of bail. It is further observed that the test is whether the order granting bail is perverse, illegal or unjustified."

Taking note of the facts of the case, the Bench held that, "The High Court has failed to appreciate and consider the nature of the accusation and the severity of the punishment in case of conviction and the nature of supporting evidence. The High Court has also failed to appreciate the facts of the case; the nature of allegations; gravity of offence and the role attributed to the accused."

The Bench further held that, "The High Court has also failed to notice the serious allegation of hatching conspiracy from the jail. The High Court ought to have considered that if respondent no.1 – accused Inderpreet Singh can hatch the conspiracy from jail, what he will not do if he is released on bail. As such, in the present case, the High Court has failed to notice that earlier respondent no.1 - accused has been involved in four cases and has been convicted and even while on bail during the pendency of the appeal against the conviction, again he indulged into similar activities and committed the offence."

The Bench noted that the accused had committed offence while on bail earlier and that he had tried to kill the complainant on several occasions. The Bench found that the antecedents of the accused and the threat perception to the complainant and his family members were not considered by the High Court while granting bail.

The Supreme Court set aside the Judgment of the High Court and canceled the bail granted to the accused.