TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (8) TMI 1709
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....e hand lies the imperative to uphold the personal liberty of the accused -an entrenched constitutional value reinforced by the presumption of innocence, which remains a cardinal principle of criminal jurisprudence. On the other hand, the court must remain equally mindful of the gravity of the alleged offence, the broader societal implications of the accused's release, and the need to preserve the integrity and fairness of the investigative and trial processes. While liberty is sacrosanct, particularly in a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law, it cannot be construed in a manner that dilutes the seriousness of heinous or grave offences or undermines public confidence in the administration of justice. The exercise of judicial discretion in bail matters, therefore, must be informed by a calibrated assessment of the nature and seriousness of the charge, the strength of the prima facie case, the likelihood of the accused fleeing justice or tampering with evidence or witnesses, and the overarching interest of ensuring that the trial proceeds without obstruction or prejudice. 3. The case at hand is one such case, where this Court has been called upon to ensure the a....
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....oden lathis and sticks, with an intention to kill them due to personal enmity. The Accused persons also fired gunshots, due to which a PCR call was received wherein the caller reported that two men fired gunshots near Chhatarsal Stadium. 6. ASI Jitender Singh took reins of the investigation and arrived at the spot of the alleged crime. On enquiry, the police party were informed that the Accused and his associates, after beating the injured persons, fled away. 7. At the spot of the incident though five vehicles were found, but none was present. A 'parna' stained with blood was recovered from the registered vehicle of the Accused, one amongst five. The four other vehicles belonged to his associates and upon a search of the said vehicles, a loaded double barrel gun was found with 3 cartridges of live ammunition. Additionally, two wooden sticks were recovered. Blood samples were taken from different spots and objects from the scene of the crime. 8. The police party were informed that the injured persons had been taken to BJRM Hospital, Jahangir Puri, New Delhi for treatment. Upon arriving at the hospital, ASI Jitender Singh recorded their MLCs. One of the injured persons, Mr. ....
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....ourts below correctly passed the impugned order releasing the Accused on bail. To buttress his submission, he emphasized that the Accused has never misused the liberty of temporary bail, granted to him on earlier occasions. Further, he submitted that given the nature of evidence on record, the Accused is entitled to bail. 14. At the outset, we must clarify that setting aside an order granting bail and cancellation of bail are two distinct concepts. While the former contemplates the correctness of the order itself, the latter pertains to the conduct of the Accused subsequent to the order granting bail. Judicial pronouncements of this Court have time and again reiterated this position. Law on the issue 15. This Court in Jayaben v. Tejas Kanubhai Zala [(2022) 3 SCC 230.], while setting aside the order granting bail to the Accused therein, had expounded that different considerations must be applied while considering an order of releasing an Accused on bail and an application for cancellation (which would include breach of bail conditions). Moreover, the Court observed that the conduct of the accused subsequent to an order granting bail would not be relevant while considering a....
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....r Section 439 CrPC by following various parameters laid down by this Court. A bare perusal of the impugned order [Omprakash v. State of Rajasthan, 2021 SCC Online Raj 3499] passed by the High Court does not suggest that the Court has considered any of the relevant factors for grant of bail." 17. A division bench of this Court in Meena Devi v. State of U.P.[ (2022) 14 SCC 368] had observed to similar effect: "26. At the cost of repetition, it may be highlighted that the considerations that weigh with the appellate court when called upon to examine the correctness of an order granting bail is not on the same footing when it comes to examining an application moved for cancellation of bail. The yardstick for testing the correctness of an order granting bail is whether the court below has exercised its discretion in an improper or arbitrary manner thereby vitiating the said order. When it comes to assessing an application seeking cancellation of bail, the appellate court looks out for, amongst others, supervening circumstances or any violation of the conditions of bail imposed on the person who has been accorded such a relief." (emphasis supplied) 18. More recently, th....
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....e accused, even if he has not misused the bail granted to him, such an order can be cancelled by the same Court that has granted the bail. Bail can also be revoked by a superior court if it transpires that the courts below have ignored the relevant material available on record or not looked into the gravity of the offence or the impact on the society resulting in such an order. In P v. State of M.P. [P v. State of M.P., (2022) 15 SCC 211] decided by a three-Judge Bench of this Court [authored by one of us (Hima Kohli, J.)] has spelt out the considerations that must weigh with the Court for interfering in an order granting bail to an accused under Section 439(1) CrPC in the following words : (SCC p. 224, para 24) "24. As can be discerned from the above decisions, for cancelling bail once granted, the court must consider whether any supervening circumstances have arisen or the conduct of the accused post grant of bail demonstrates that it is no longer conducive to a fair trial to permit him to retain his freedom by enjoying the concession of bail during trial [Dolat Ram v. State of Haryana, (1995) 1 SCC 349 : 1995 SCC (Cri) 237]. To put it differently, in ordinary circumstan....
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....t of an accused subsequent to the grant bail into consideration while considering an appeal against the grant of such bail. Such grounds must be taken in an application for cancellation of bail; and (vi) An appeal against grant of bail must not be allowed to be used as a retaliatory measure. Such an appeal must be confined only to the grounds discussed above. 20. Keeping in view the above expositions of law, this Court is of the view that the High Court has erroneously passed an order releasing the Accused on bail. While considerations such as the period of custody and testimonies of key prosecution witnesses having been recorded are relevant, the Court errored by inter alia, not considering the grievous nature of the crime, the possibility of influencing the trial by the Accused and the conduct of the accused during investigation. 21. It is a matter of record that after registration of the subject FIR, inter alia against the Accused, he remained absconding and evaded arrest. This had resulted in the passing of the Order at Annexure P2, by the learned Metropolitan Magistrate - 03, North: Rohini, whereby non-bailable warrants had to be issued against him and his assoc....