The Supreme Court quoted that the sections under 498A and 406 under the Indian penal code are widely misused and for no reason the husband and family members are prosecuted and jailed thereby tarnishing their reputation and is termed as legal terrorism.
But generally the trend in court is that the anticipatory bail is granted in the cases of matrimonial offences under the penal code but very strict conditions are imposed which are as follows :-
- Return of dowry articles
- By giving maintenance amount and returning jewellery
- Bail as contents of FIR are vague
- Complainant residing in matrimonial home
- The nature and gravity of the accusation
- Reason to believe that you may be arrested.
- You shall make yourself available for questioning by the police officer as and when required;
- You shall not make any threat or promise to any witness. The person shall not leave India without due permission of the court.
- Filing of First Information Report (FIR) is not a pre-condition for filing for an anticipatory bail.
Can an anticipatory bail be cancelled?
There is no specific provision for cancellation of bail, but a bail can be cancelled by the High Court based on certain grounds in order to meet the ends of justice.
A request for cancellation of the anticipatory bail can also be made by the opposite party or the police, in case you violate any of the directions imposed by the Court.
If anticipatory bail gets rejected in the lower court, then an appeal can be filed in the High Court and further in the Supreme Court.