Regular bail requires custody before Section 439 can be considered; applications were not entertainable without surrender.

Regular bail under Section 439 CrPC is premised on the accused being in custody or having surrendered. Where interim bail granted under the pandemic concession had been withdrawn and the applicants did not surrender, they remained outside custody, so the regular bail applications could not be examined on merits and were not entertainable.

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Issues: Whether applications for regular bail could be considered when the applicants were not in custody and had not surrendered after withdrawal of the interim-bail concession by the Supreme Court.

Analysis: The applications were moved under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in prosecutions under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The applicants had earlier obtained interim bail under the pandemic-related concession, but that concession was later withdrawn and time was granted to surrender. As the applicants had not surrendered, they remained outside custody. Regular bail is premised on custody, and in the absence of custody the prayer for regular bail could not be examined on merits.

Conclusion: The applications for regular bail were not entertainable and were rightly dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: A request for regular bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 cannot be considered when the accused is not in custody and has not surrendered.

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