Bail is the temporary release of a prisoner in exchange for security given for the prisoner’s appearance at a later hearing.  

Bail as per Indian law:

Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973 empowers the Court to impose certain conditions deeming fit at the time of granting bail.

The Criminal Procedure Code elucidates the bail process and how it is obtained. However, it does not define bail. To get a glimpse of the law, one needs to go deeper to section 2(a) of Criminal Procedure Code wherein it says that bailable offense means an offense which is shown as bailable in the First Schedule or which is made bailable by any other law for the time being enforce, and non-bailable offense means any other offense.

Thus, Section 2(a) of Criminal Procedure Code 1973 talks about schedule which refers to all the offenses under the Indian Penal Code and puts them into bailable and on bailable categories which have been determined according to the nature of the crime. For instance, all serious offenses like offenses punishable with imprisonment for three years or more have seen considered as non bailable offenses, all other offenses have been kept bailable offenses.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of State of Maharashtra vs. Sitaram Popat Vita has stated few factors to be taken into consideration, before granting bail, namely:

  1. That all the allegations leveled against the applicant are false, frivolous in nature and is a complaint which has been filed with a motive to harass the accused/ applicant.
  2. That the applicant is a citizen of India having no criminal record and clean antecedents.
  3. That there is no iota of evidence which can point at the commission of the alleged offence by the accused/ applicant.
  4. That the accused/ applicant is the sole bread earner of his family and subjecting him to incarceration in a false complaint would not only ruin his life but will simultaneously have adverse impact on the lives of his wife and children.
  5. That the accused is not an imminent danger to the public tranquility and safety.
  6. That the accused/ applicant undertakes to fully co operate with investigating agencies and ensure his presence before the Ld. Court as and when required to do so.
  7. That the accused/applicant would not engage in destruction and tampering of evidence if he is released on bail.
  8. That the accused/ applicant would not be detrimental to the prosecutrix in any manner and would not threaten the prosecutrix or any other family member of the prosecutrix.
  9. That no purpose would be solved if the accused is incarcerated.
  10. That the applicant will not attempt to escape the clutches of law, if released on bail.
  11. That the applicant further undertakes to abide by all the conditions as the Hon’ble Court may deem fit in grant of bail to the accused/applicant.

Types Of Bail In India

There are commonly 3 types of bail in India which a person can apply depending upon the stage of the criminal matter:

  1. Regular Bail: A regular bail can be granted to a person who has already been arrested and kept in police custody. A person can file a bail application for regular bail under Section 437 and 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973.
  2. Interim Bail: Interim bail is a bail granted for a short period of time for a specific purpose such as attending a marriage, for attending a funeral etc.
  3. Anticipatory Bail: A person, who anticipates that he can be arrested by the police for a non-bailable offence, can file an application for anticipatory bail. It is like an advance bail obtained under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973.