Do Not Grant Regular Bail When Interim Anticipatory Bail Is Granted By Higher Courts And Matter Is Pending: Supreme Court To Trial Courts
Once a regular bail is granted by a subordinate Court on the strength of the interim/pre-arrest bail granted by the superior Court, even if the superior Court is to dismiss the plea of anticipatory bail upon fuller consideration of the matter, the regular bail granted by the subordinate Court would continue to hold the field, rendering the ultimate rejection of the pre-arrest bail by the superior Court meaningless.
The consideration of regular bail applications upon surrender during the pendency of the application for pre-arrest bail before a superior Court must be discouraged.
Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s). 2411/2016
(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 04-12-2015 in
ABA No. 4049/2015 passed by the High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi)
RUKMANI MAHATO Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
THE STATE OF JHARKHAND Respondent(s)
In the instant case the Apex Court was hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by one Ms. Rukmani Mahato, challenging an order passed in December, 2015, wherein the Jharkhand High Court had refused to grant her pre-arrest bail. Subsequent to this order, she was granted pre-arrest bail by the Apex Court on 04.04.2016 vide the following order:
“Issue notice.
In the event the petitioner is arrested, she may be released on bail by making deposit of Rs.25,000/- in cash to the satisfaction of the trial Court and shall co-operate with the investigation at all further stages.”
During the pendency of the anticipatory bail application ,the petitioner surrendered before the learned Trial Court on 21.04.2016 and was released on regular bail.
When this fact was brought to the notice of the Apex Court, the order dated
18.04.2017 was passed cancelling the pre-arrest bail t o the accused petitioner and also the regular bail granted to the accused-petitioner by the learned Trial Court by its order dated 21.04.2016.
Hon’ble Supreme Court has expressed dismay over the granting of regular bail when the matter was pending before a superior court.
The judgment has been circulated with a direction by the Apex court to curb such anomalous practice.