Judgment of
the above noted case bearing Criminal Appeal No. 348 of 2012 arising
out of SLP (Crl.) No. 8995 of 2011 was delivered by the bench of
Supreme Court of India comprising of Mr. P. Sathasivam J. and Mr. J.
Chelameswar J. on February 10, 2012.
Unlike my
earlier posts, this judgment does not involve any significant
question of law. Instead it provides brief guidelines for
consideration in bail matters.
Accordingly,
The Court granting bail should exercise its discretion in a judicious
manner and not as a matter of course. Though at the stage of
granting bail, a detailed examination of evidence and elaborate
documentation of the merits of the case need not be undertaken, there
is a need to indicate in such orders reasons for prima facie
concluding why bail is being granted, particularly, where the
accused is charged of having committed a serious offence. The Court
granting bail has to consider, among other circumstances, the factors
such as
- the nature of accusation and severity of punishment in case of conviction and the nature of supporting evidence;
- reasonable apprehension of tampering with the witness or apprehension of threat to the complainant and;
- prima facie satisfaction of the court in support of the charge.
In addition
to the same, the Court while considering a petition for grant of bail
in a non-bailable offence apart from the seriousness of the offence,
likelihood of the accused fleeing from justice and tampering with the
prosecution witnesses, have to be noted.
