Bail cancellation upheld where bail was granted on irrelevant considerations and material facts were ignored

An order cancelling bail under Section 439(2) CrPC was upheld because the trial court had granted bail on irrelevant considerations and had ignored material facts relevant to the accused's role and the prosecution case. The Court reaffirmed that grant of bail and cancellation of bail are governed by different standards, but a bail order may still be interfered with if discretion was exercised on legally untenable grounds, on irrelevant materials, or in a perverse manner. It also reiterated that the superior court may examine whether the bail discretion was properly applied without undertaking a detailed re-appreciation of evidence.

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Issues: Whether the order cancelling bail under Section 439(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was justified on the ground that the trial court had granted bail by relying on irrelevant considerations and ignoring relevant materials.

Analysis: The Court held that the standards governing grant of bail and cancellation of bail are different, but an order granting bail may still be interfered with where the court acted on irrelevant materials, ignored relevant materials, or otherwise passed a perverse order. It reaffirmed that while detailed re-appreciation of evidence is impermissible at the bail stage, the superior court may examine whether the discretion under Section 439 was exercised on legally tenable grounds. The Court found that the trial court had been influenced by impermissible factors such as the antecedents of the deceased and had failed to consider material circumstances relevant to the accused's role and the allegations of the prosecution.

Conclusion: The cancellation of bail was upheld and the appellant was not entitled to restoration of bail.

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