Special bail restrictions for organised crime require reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and unlikely to reoffend.

Under the special bail restrictions for organised crime offences, bail may be refused only if the court is satisfied on broad probabilities that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is guilty and unlikely to commit an offence while on bail. On the material available, the Court treated the confessional statements as tentative, noted that some were not recorded in the statutory manner, and held that recovery of a vehicle from the accused's residence did not by itself establish culpability. As the surrounding circumstances did not support a strong inference of guilt and there was no adequate basis to foresee further organised crime, bail was justified.

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Issues: Whether bail ought to be granted under the special restrictions applicable to organised crime offences when the material against the accused is tentative and the court is required to assess reasonable grounds for believing that she is not guilty and is not likely to commit an offence while on bail.

Analysis: The statutory bar on bail under the special Act required the court to be satisfied, on broad probabilities, that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the accused was not guilty of the offence and was not likely to commit any offence under the Act while on bail. The material against the accused was primarily based on confessional statements, including statements not recorded in the manner required by the special statute, and the recovery of the vehicle from her residence did not by itself conclusively establish culpability. The surrounding circumstances did not justify an inference of guilt at the bail stage, and the probability of conviction did not appear bright on the material available. The court also found no adequate basis to conclude that she would indulge in organised crime if released on bail.

Conclusion: Bail was justified and the restrictive conditions under the special bail provision were not attracted on the material then available.

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