Anticipatory bail to accused on apprehension of arrest not limited to fixed time: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the anticipatory bail granted to an accused on the apprehension of arrest should not be limited to a fixed time.

A five-judge Constitution Bench comprising of justices Arun Mishra, Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran, MR Shah, and S Ravindra Bhat said that no time limit can be fixed for anticipatory bail.

During the hearing of a case, a three-judge bench of justices Kurian Joseph, Mohan M Shantanagoudar and Navin Sinha had on May 15, 2018, referred to a larger bench for consideration whether the protection granted to a person under Section 438 of CrPC should be limited to a fixed period to enable the person to surrender before the trial court or seek regular bail.

Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) deals with the directions for grant of bail to a person apprehending arrest.

The apex court said that pre-arrest bail can continue with "some suitable conditions" by a court till the end of a trial.

Justice Shah said that there should be no limitation when it comes to the time as per Section 482 of the CrPC adding that "while the power should not be limited, the courts have the power to limit the period".

The court said that it shouldn't be limited, as it is restrictive of fundamental rights and violates them.

The three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had in May 2018 observed that there are different opinions of courts in the matter relating to anticipatory bail.

"In light of the conflicting views of different benches of varying strength, we are of the opinion that the legal position needs to be authoritatively settled in clear and unambiguous terms" the court had noted before referring the matter to a larger bench.