The Supreme Court has taken note of its "conflicting" verdicts on the vexatious legal question whether the grant of anticipatory bail to an accused was for a limited period or does it remain in force till the trial concludes, and referred the matter to a larger bench.
Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides for grant of pre-arrest or anticipatory bail by the High Court or a sessions court to a person who apprehends arrest in a serious criminal case.
The apex court, in its judgements, has given conflicting views on the issue.
While one set of verdicts say that anticipatory bail "should not be for a limited period" and remain in force till the conclusion of the criminal trial, the other judgements have opined that it should be for a limited period "so as to enable the person to surrender before the trial court and seek regular bail."
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