High Courts Should Not Repeatedly Grant Interim Bail To Same Accused; Either Grant Regular Bail Or Deny: Supreme Court

While granting bail to an accused, the Supreme Court observed that High Courts should not routinely grant interim bail to the same applicant again and again. Either the Court should grant regular bail or deny the same, but insofar as interim bail, the relief shall be granted only in specific exigencies as an exception."Though, it may be necessary in some cases to grant interim bail to take care of specific contingencies, but as a routine, interim bail should not be granted. Either the Court should grant regular bail or should refuse to grant bail. Granting interim bail should be an exception, and should not be granted in a routine manner and repeatedly", observed a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran.The Court was dealing with a case under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The petitioner was accused of the offence punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Act. Vide the impugned order, the High Court of Odisha had granted him interim bail, even though he had already undergone about 3 years in jail.Considering the facts of the case, and the period of incarceration undergone by the petitioner, the Supreme Court was of the view that it was a fit case for grant of regular bail. As such, the petitioner was directed to be released on bail, subject to terms and conditions to be decided by the concerned Court.While in seisin of the case, the top Court noted that many like cases are coming to the Supreme Court challenging the recurrent grant of interim bail to the same applicant/accused. In this backdrop, the bench of Justices Dhulia and Chandran cautioned that relief of interim bail should be extended only as an exception in special circumstances.Appearance: AoR Shrey Kapoor and Advocate Lalitendu Mohpatra (for petitioner); AoR Sharmila Upadhyay and Sarvjit Pratap Singh (for State) Case Title: ASIM MALLIK Versus THE STATE OF ODISHA, Diary No. 57403-2024Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 475Click here to read the order

High Courts Should Not Repeatedly Grant Interim Bail To Same Accused; Either Grant Regular Bail Or Deny: Supreme Court

Debby Jain

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