Non-bailable warrants converted to bailable warrants where accused were on bail and regularly appearing pending Supreme Court review.

A challenge to non-bailable warrants was treated as maintainable because the warrant order was consequential to the cognizance order. The court noted that the petitioners were already on bail in the predicate offences and had been regularly appearing before the trial court without misuse of liberty. Applying the principle that non-bailable warrants should issue only when summons or bailable warrants are unlikely to secure appearance, the court found no basis to place the petitioners at a disadvantage while the underlying legal controversy remained pending before the Supreme Court. The non-bailable warrants were therefore converted into bailable warrants, and the main petition was kept pending.

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Issues: Whether the non-bailable warrants issued against the petitioners should be converted into bailable warrants pending the decision of the Supreme Court on the underlying legal controversy.

Analysis: The prayer for conversion of the warrants was considered maintainable even though the later order dated 15.3.2018 was not separately challenged, because the warrant order flowed from and was consequential to the cognizance order dated 12.3.2018. The petitioners had already been enlarged on bail in the predicate offences and had been regularly appearing before the trial court without misuse of liberty. The existence of the non-bailable warrants was dependent on the subsistence of the cognizance order, and the matter was being kept in abeyance awaiting authoritative pronouncement by the Supreme Court. In these circumstances, and applying the principle that non-bailable warrants should be used only when summons or bailable warrants are unlikely to secure appearance, the petitioners were not to be placed at a disadvantage pending final determination.

Conclusion: The objection to the prayer was rejected and the non-bailable warrants were directed to be converted into bailable warrants. The main petition was kept pending and listed after the Supreme Court's decision.

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