Many famous personalities face the FIRs 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 and it should be kept in mind that there are different types of bails in India. The concept of bail is a basic and important part of criminal jurisprudence. Bail is a well-recognized principle in 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 be present in court whenever the court needs him for further proceedings. All the provisions related to the bail are covered under section 436 to section 439 of the criminal procedure code. Different types of bail are used according to case to case. Today, we will know about what is bail, and various types of bail in India.
Table of Contents
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 for the provisional release of the accused. The arrest in the criminal case is done to ensure that the accused is present in court during the proceedings. In the bail application, the accused is agreed to be presented in the court or police station without going to 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 2 sureties who should guarantee 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 investigations 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 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 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 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. However, 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 apply for bail to the magistrate. Now, under the bailable offences, the bail is not a matter of right. The grant of bail depends upon the discretionary power of the magistrate.
Conditions for rejection of bail
The magistrate has to check the requirements to grant bail in non-bailable offences, the magistrate will not grant 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 apply to the session court or high court.
Section 437 and section 439 give 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. 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 paying the amount required for continuing the bail.
- If the interim bail expires and the person fails 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 an 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. The person has to be present at the time of the proceedings of the case.
It should be kept 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
- The accused cannot leave the country
- And any other important condition that 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 failure to comply with the conditions of the bail, the court may issue a 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 to him. The court can also impose additional charges due to the breach of bail.
Cancellation of bail
- The power to cancel all types of bail lies with the court, not with the police officer.
- The court which granted the bail in the case can alone cancel the bail.
- The court of the magistrate cannot cancel the bail granted by the police officer.
- The high court and session court have 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 bars by taking bail. There are different types of bail 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 arrested in a bailable case.
The concept of bail is good for the accused as he can be released 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.
You can follow us on Instagram and Linkedin to get notifications of new articles published by Legal Study Material.