Inherent power can cancel bail in bailable offences where the accused's conduct threatens a fair trial.

Section 496 of the 1898 Code gives a right to bail in bailable offences, but that right is not absolute and may be lost if the accused's later conduct jeopardises a fair trial. Section 561A preserves the High Court's inherent power to make orders needed to prevent abuse of process and secure the ends of justice, and that power can extend to cancelling bail in a proper case. The scheme of the Code, including the express cancellation powers in Sections 497 and 498, does not exclude inherent jurisdiction where release on bail is being used in a manner that defeats or endangers the fair progress of the trial.

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Issues: Whether bail granted under Section 496 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 to a person accused of a bailable offence can be cancelled by the High Court in exercise of its inherent power under Section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.

Analysis: Section 496 confers a right to bail in bailable offences, but that right is not absolute in the sense that it can never be lost. Section 561A preserves the High Court's inherent power to make orders necessary to prevent abuse of process or to secure the ends of justice, and that power may be used where the accused's subsequent conduct threatens the fair progress of the trial. The scheme of the Code, including the express cancellation powers in Sections 497 and 498, does not exclude resort to inherent power where a bailable-offence accused, after release on bail, acts in a manner that jeopardises a fair trial. The need to protect the administration of criminal justice applies equally to bailable and non-bailable offences when the accused's conduct imperils the trial.

Conclusion: The High Court has inherent power under Section 561A to cancel bail granted under Section 496 in a proper case where the accused's conduct defeats or endangers a fair trial.

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