What is bail & types of bails in India

There are many famous personalities who face the FIR against them due to their wrong comments or statements. So, the first work which is done by them to avoid arrest is to apply for bail. The concept of bail is the basic and important part of criminal jurisprudence. Bail is a well-recognized principle among the whole world’s judicial system. The bail is a temporary release from the jail of an accused who has the criminal charged by depositing security to ensure that the person will present in the court whenever the court needs him for further proceedings. All the provisions related to the bail is coved under section 436 to section 439 of the criminal procedure code. There are different types of bails that are used according to case to case. Today, we will know about what is bail, and various types of bails in India.

What is bail?

The bail is the temporary release from the police custody where the accused person on bail will be available whenever he needs for the investigation of further proceedings of the court. The Criminal procedure code does not define the term bail. However, the term bail indicates that the accused with criminal charges sets free from jail by submitting a kind of security by the accused.

The accused can move the application in the court or police station for bail at the time when the police arrest the person or going to arrest the person in a criminal case.

What is a Bail application?

The bail application is an application that is filed by the accused person’s advocate in the court of police started for the provisional release of the accused. The arrest in the criminal case is done to ensure that the accused must present in the court during the proceedings. In the bail application, the accused is agreed to be presented in the court or police station without going into jail.

Power to Grant the anticipatory bail

The session court and high court have the power to grant the anticipatory bail after noticing all the necessary aspects of the case. But according to the law, first, the application for the grant of anticipatory bail must be submitted in the session court. If the session court rejects the anticipatory bail, then the person can challenge this in the high court.

How to apply for bail?

To apply for bail, the accused need to sign the bail bond which is a legal document and the person has to submit the amount which is specified in the bail bond. Also, there must be the 2 sureties who should take the guarantee of the accused person that the accused will come to the court or police station whenever he needs to be present for the investigation of the court proceedings.

What is a bail bond?

A bail bond is an agreement signed by the accused to appear in the trials and investigation by paying a certain amount for the bail bond. The bail bond contains some other conditions like the person cannot go out of the country during the bail etc.

If the person fails to comply with the bail bond, a warrant can be issued against the person to arrest the person.

Can bail be granted in any type of case?

There are two types of offences given under the Indian penal code i.e. bailable offence and non-bailable offence. The bail can be granted in both the cases but under bailable offences, the bail is claimed as a matter of right whereas, in the case of non-bailable offences, the bail is a matter of discretion of the court.

Generally, non-bailable offences are less serious nature crimes so there is no difficulty to take bail in such types of offence. The person can give the application as per section 436 of CrPC in the police station or in the court. The main reason behind the bail in the bailable offence is that the accused is not made guilty because the trial of the court is continued. If the person is sent behind the bar, his right to life and personal liberty will be affected.  So here the bail plays its role by filling the surety bond that the person will come to the court of police at the time of further proceedings.

Section 324 IPC: Punishment, Bail, Compoundability, and Supreme Court Judgments

Section 436(A) of the criminal procedure code

Section 436 (a) was added to the CrPC after the amendment in 2005. It talks about that the length of custody of a person during the trial. According to the section, if the accused has spent half of his sentence in jail due to the charges imposed on him, the person can be released on the bail.

Let’s take the example. Ram did a crime whose punishment is 4 years. The case is still running and he spent 2 years in jail. Now, the Ram is eligible for bail.  Though it will be a temporary release and the person has to appear for the proceedings.

Section 437 of the criminal procedure code

Section 437 of the criminal procedure code deals with the bail in non-bailable offences. The accused has to submit the application for bail to the magistrate. Now, under the bailable offences, the bail is not a matter of right. The grant of bail totally depends upon the discretionary power of the magistrate.

Conditions for rejection of bail

The magistrate has to check the necessary requirements to grant bail in non-bailable offences, the magistrate will not grant the bail under CrPC if:

• The punishment is 7 years or more than 7 years
• In the case of sedition
• The accused did crimes against the human body like rape and murder etc.
• Serous crime against the property
• The accused is involved in the case of abatement or criminal conspiracy

Types of bails 

There are three types of bail in India. Such types of bail are used in the court according to the situation and circumstances:

Regular Bail

Regular bail is the release of a person on bail by filling the security and bail bond. There should be two sureties in the bail bond. The police have the right to arrest the person if he commits a cognizable offence.

The accused who is arrested in the bailable and non-bailable offence can apply for regular bail. The accused person may get bail from the police office in the case of bailable offences or by the court of the magistrate. But in the case of a non-bailable offence, the accused person has to file the application to the session court or high court.

Section 437 and section 439 gives the right to the accused to be released from jail after the grant of bail.

Interim bail  

The interim bail means the bail under CrPC which is granted for a short period of time. The interim bail is taken during the pendency of any application or at the time when the application of anticipatory bail of regular bail is pending before the court.

Key points of Interim bail

• Interim bail is conditional bail and it can be extended.
• The interim bail can be extended by pay the amount required for continuing the bail.
• If the interim bail expires and the person is failed to pay the amount for continuing the bail, the person can be taken into custody.

Anticipatory bail

Section 438 of the criminal procedure code deals with anticipatory bail. If a person thinks that he will be arrested in a criminal case or any person can file the FIR against him, the person can submit the application in the court for anticipatory bail. After the grant of anticipatory bail, the police cannot arrest the person. Though the person has to be present at the time of the proceedings of the case.

It should keep in mind that anticipatory bail is always applied before the arrest of the person.

Conditions for the grant of anticipatory bail

The court has to take care of some important points at the time of grant of anticipatory bail, like:

• There should be reasonable apprehension of the arrest of the accused person in the case for which the anticipatory bail is applied.
• The offence should be bailable
• Application for anticipatory bail must be done before arrest.
• The person should not be a habitual offender.
• The accused should not leave the country after the grant of anticipatory bail.

Conditions imposed on the grant of anticipatory bail

The court can impose some restrictions on the person who is applying for anticipatory bail:

• The person has to be present at the time of investigation and proceedings
• The accused person cannot influence the witness of the case
• The accused cannot temper with the oral and documentary evidence
• Accused cannot leave the country
• And any other important condition which the court thinks is necessary for the case.

Refund of bail Security

The security taken at the time of applying for the bail is returned to the accused when the case is completed in court. But if the accused fails to comply with the conditions of the bail, the security will not be returned to the person.

In the case of fails to comply with the conditions of the bail, the court may issue the warrant against the person to arrest that person and produce him in front of the court to give the answers to all the charges applied on him. The court can also impose additional charges due to the breach of bail.

Cancellation of bail

• The power to cancel all types of bails lies to the court, not to the police officer.
• The court which granted the bail in the case has can alone cancel the bail.
• The court of the magistrate cannot cancel the bail granted by the police officer.
• High court and session court has the power to cancel the bail granted by a police officer.

Conclusion

The presumption of innocence is necessary. With this concept, the provisions of bail were added to the criminal procedure code. It is a remedy for the person who is innocent in the case. The person can save him to spend time behind the bars by taking bail. there are different types of bails in India that can be used according to the circumstances. The application of anticipatory bail becomes more important in the case where the person thinks that he can be arrest in the bailable case.

The concept of bail is good for the accused as he can release from jail by filing a security bond and security. He must be presented at the time of investigation of the case and during the proceedings of the case.

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