Apex court against terms for anticipatory bail

 A court must not impose “onerous” condition while granting anticipatory bail to an accused as it is likely to affect his right to personal freedom, the Supreme Court has said.

A bench presided over by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said it is incumbent upon the courts to strike a balance between the individual’s right to personal freedom and the fair investigation being undertaken by the police.

The court set aside an order directing a cheating case accused to submit Rs 1 crore fixed deposit receipt as condition for bail. Explaining Section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code dealing with anticipatory bail, the bench, also comprising Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, said that it allowed the court to impose “any condition” for the purpose but it should be reasonable one.

“The words ‘any condition’ used in the provision should not be regarded as conferring absolute power on a court of law to impose any condition that it chooses to impose. ‘Any condition’ has to be interpreted as a reasonable condition acceptable in the facts permissible in the circumstance and effective in the pragmatic sense and should not defeat the order of grant of bail,” the bench said.