Anticipatory bail cancellation upheld where serious allegations, prima facie complicity, and breach of bail conditions justified custodial interrogation.

Anticipatory bail was found unsustainable where the offence was serious, the investigation was still at a nascent stage, and the material on record, including a suicide note and surrounding circumstances, indicated prima facie complicity of the respondents. The Court held that absence of criminal antecedents and local residence were not decisive when fair investigation required custodial interrogation. It also found that the respondents breached bail conditions by failing to report to the police station and by attempting to influence prosecution witnesses, and that this independent misconduct justified cancellation of bail. The application for cancellation was accordingly allowed.

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Issues: Whether anticipatory bail granted to the respondents should be cancelled on the ground that the order was unsustainable on merits and that the respondents violated the conditions of bail by not reporting to the police station and by attempting to influence prosecution witnesses.

Analysis: The order granting anticipatory bail was found to be unsustainable because the offence was serious, the investigation was at a nascent stage, and the material on record, including the suicide note and surrounding circumstances, indicated prima facie complicity of the respondents. The Court held that lack of criminal antecedents and residence in the locality were not decisive considerations where the seriousness of the offence and the need for fair investigation required custodial interrogation. The Court further found that the respondents had not complied with the direction to report to the police station and had acted to influence witnesses, and that such breach of conditions independently justified cancellation of bail.

Conclusion: The anticipatory bail order was liable to be cancelled and the application for cancellation was allowed.

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