Merely because a serious Charge is added at a later stage is not by itself not a ground to refuse Anticipatory Bail: SC [Read the Judgment]

Supreme Court on Monday, held that, merely because the accused is charged with a serious offence at a later stage may not by itself be the reason to refuse the grant of anticipatory bail if the circumstances are otherwise justified. The court observed that no purpose would be served in compelling the appellant to go behind bars, as an under trial, by refusing the anticipatory bail in respect of alleged incident which is 17 years old and for which the charge is framed only in the year 2014. Justices A.K. Sikri and Rohinton Fali Nariman said “the benefit of anticipatory bail cannot be denied when such a charge (under section 376 IPC) is added after a long period of time and inaction of the prosecutrix is also a contributory factor.”The complainant and the accused were neighbours. In 2001 the complainant filed a complaint under section 506 IPC and after 9 years she made an application to include offence under Section 376 IPC as well. Ultimately, the Police filed a revised charge sheet stating that a prima facie case under Section 376 IPC was also made out. In view of addition of charge under Section 376 IPC, the Magistrate passed the order on 25.04.2013 for committal of proceedings to the Sessions Court and taking the appellant into custody. However, execution of this order for taking the appellant into custody was stayed till 07.05.2013. During this period, the appellant moved the Sessions Court at Ahmedabad for grant of anticipatory bail which was ultimately granted on 18.05.2013. Against this order of grant of anticipatory bail, the prosecutrix filed criminal revision petition which was allowed by the High Court.The apex court bench said that even when there is a serious charge levelled against the appellant, that by itself should not be the reason to deny anticipatory bail when the matter is examined keeping in view the following facts of the caseCharge has been framed 17 years after the alleged offenceThere is no allegation that the accused may flee the course of justiceThe appellant has participated in the proceedings from its beginningThere is no allegation that during this period he had tried to influence the witnesses.The court added “At the same time, it is also the obligation of the applicant to make out a case for grant of anticipatory bail. But that would not mean that he has to make out a “special case””. The Court also opined that “great ignominy, humiliation and disgrace is attached to arrest. Arrest leads to many serious consequences not only for the accused but for the entire family and at times for the entire community. Most people do not make any distinction between arrest at a pre-conviction stage or post-conviction stage.”The Court also relied on the Constitution Bench decision in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia and Others v. State of Punjab which had held that provision of anticipatory bail enshrined in Section 438 of the Code is conceptualised under Article 21 of the Constitution which relates to personal liberty.At the end, the Bench summarised the Principles relating to Anticipatory Bail as follows;(i) The complaint filed against the accused needs to be thoroughly examined, including the aspect whether the complainant has filed a false or frivolous complaint on earlier occasion. The court should also examine the fact whether there is any family dispute between the accused and the complainant and the complainant must be clearly told that if the complaint is found to be false or frivolous, then strict action will be taken against him in accordance with law. If the connivance between the complainant and the investigating officer is established then action be taken against the investigating officer in accordance with law.(ii) The gravity of charge and the exact role of the accused must be properly comprehended. Before arrest, the arresting officer must record the valid reasons which have led to the arrest of the accused in the case diary. In exceptional cases, the reasons could be recorded immediately after the arrest, so that while dealing with the bail application, the remarks and observations of the arresting officer can also be properly evaluated by the court.(iii) It is imperative for the courts to carefully and with meticulous precision evaluate the facts of the case. The discretion to grant bail must be exercised on the basis of the available material and the facts of the particular case. In cases where the court is of the considered view that the accused has joined the investigation and he is fully cooperating with the investigating agency and is not likely to abscond, in that event, custodial interrogation should be avoided. A great ignominy, humiliation and disgrace is attached to arrest. Arrest leads to many serious consequences not only for the accused but for the entire family and at times for the entire community. Most people do not make any distinction between arrest at a...

Merely because a serious Charge is added at a later stage is not by itself not a ground to refuse Anticipatory Bail: SC [Read the Judgment]

Ashok KM

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