Bail condition based on voluntary undertaking upheld; accused could not later disown the deposit term in a serious offence case.
A bail condition requiring deposit of 10% of the alleged liability was not interfered with because the applicant had earlier expressed readiness before the Sessions Court to make that deposit and could not later resile from that position. The HC noted that the relied-on Supreme Court decisions did not assist on these facts, and that the seriousness of the alleged offence, the evidence, and the attributed complicity justified continued imposition of the condition. Bail relief was therefore declined at that stage, and the Sessions Court's condition was upheld.
Issues: Whether the condition imposed while granting bail, requiring deposit of 10% of the alleged liability, should be interfered with, and whether bail ought to be granted or continued without that condition.
Analysis: The application sought deletion of the deposit condition attached to the bail order. The court noted that the condition had been imposed after considering the applicant's own stand before the Sessions Court that he was ready to deposit 10% of the amount. In these circumstances, the applicant could not resile from that position and seek deletion of the very condition on which bail had been granted. The court also found that the cited Supreme Court decisions did not assist the applicant on the facts of the case. Considering the seriousness and gravity of the alleged offence, the evidence, and the complicity attributed to the accused, the court declined to interfere with the condition and found no ground to grant bail at that stage.
Conclusion: The condition imposed by the Sessions Court was upheld, and the prayer for bail relief was rejected against the assessee.
Ratio Decidendi: A bail condition voluntarily accepted before the court granting bail cannot ordinarily be challenged later by the accused who seeks to disown that undertaking, especially where the condition is connected with the court's discretion in a serious offence.
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