Default bail conditions must be reasonable; excessive bond and bank guarantee requirements were modified.

Default bail conditions must remain reasonable and cannot be so onerous that they defeat the statutory right to release under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The High Court found that the bond, sureties and bank guarantee imposed on the accused were excessive in light of the circumstances, including prolonged custody and the failure to file the complaint within the stipulated period. It reiterated that bail secures attendance at trial and is not meant to operate as pre-trial punishment. The order was therefore modified by reducing the bond amount and setting aside the requirement of furnishing a bank guarantee.

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Issues: Whether the bail conditions imposed while granting default bail under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, including the quantum of bond, sureties and a bank guarantee, were excessive and required modification.

Analysis: The petitioner had already earned the right to be released on default bail, but remained in custody because the financial conditions attached to release were onerous. The governing principle is that bond amounts under Chapter XXXIII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 must be fixed with due regard to the circumstances of the case and cannot be so excessive as to frustrate the relief of bail. The Court noted that the petitioner had undergone substantial custody, the complaint had not been filed within the stipulated period, and the object of bail is to secure attendance at trial, not to impose punishment in advance. It also held that a bank guarantee is normally not to be insisted upon in addition to a bond and sureties in the manner imposed here.

Conclusion: The bail conditions were held to be excessive in part, and the order was modified by reducing the bond amount and setting aside the requirement of furnishing a bank guarantee.

Ratio Decidendi: Conditions attached to default bail must be reasonable and non-excessive under Section 440 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and cannot be so onerous as to nullify the right to release under Section 167(2).

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