Prolonged custody and one-third sentence completion justified statutory bail where trial had not yet begun.

Prolonged pre-trial custody can support statutory bail where the accused has already undergone more than one-third of the maximum sentence and the trial is unlikely to conclude soon. Here, the complaint was from 2019, charges had not been framed, the accused had remained in judicial custody for about 3.5 years, and was stated to be a first-time offender. On those facts, entitlement to statutory bail under Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 was made out, and the order refusing bail was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to bail, including statutory bail, in view of prolonged custody and completion of more than one-third of the maximum sentence.

Analysis: The complaint was of 2019, but charges had not yet been framed and the trial was likely to take substantial time. The appellant had remained in judicial custody for about 3.5 years, was stated to be a first-time offender, and had already undergone more than one-third of the maximum sentence of 10 years prescribed under Section 447 of the Companies Act, 2013. On these facts, the entitlement to statutory bail under Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 was made out.

Conclusion: The appellant was entitled to bail and the order refusing bail was set aside.

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