The Punjab and Haryana High Court stated that a Sessions Court possesses the authority to revoke bail granted by the High Court to an accused, particularly in cases where there are supervening circumstances such as the breach of release conditions.
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Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court clarified that a Sessions Court has the authority to cancel bail granted by the High Court under certain circumstances, such as when the accused violates release conditions.
The High Court’s observations came during the consideration of petitions challenging a Sessions Court’s order granting anticipatory bail in a case involving provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, related to a matrimonial dispute.
“A Sessions Court has the power to cancel regular bail granted by the High Court or by itself or by a Magistrate’s Court. However, the Sessions Court can cancel regular bail granted by the High Court only where the accused has violated any condition(s) imposed by the High Court (while granting bail) or on account of such accused having misused liberty granted to him by trying to influence witness(s) or having tried to delay trial by absenting himself or having committed another offence(s) while on bail and other factors of akin nature,”
-the High Court stated.
However, a Magistrate can only cancel bail that it has granted and cannot cancel bail granted by the High Court or Sessions Court unless the accused has violated conditions imposed by those courts while granting bail.
Justice Sumeet Goel made these observations while analyzing the laws regarding the cancellation of bail and setting aside a bail order.
“There is a conceptual distinction between ‘cancellation of bail’ and ‘setting aside of a bail order.’ In a plea seeking ‘cancellation of bail,’ the factors required to be considered are akin to supervening circumstances/events or misconduct of the accused. In a plea seeking ‘setting aside of a bail order,’ the factors required to be considered are akin to the order in question being unjustified or illegal or not based on relevant consideration(s). In other words, a plea seeking ‘setting aside of a bail order’ is more in the nature of laying a challenge to an order granting bail before a superior Court upon merits,”
-the High Court explained.
The Court also noted that while the High Court can cancel bail granted by itself or the Sessions Court, such cancellation of a Sessions Court order should ordinarily be filed before the same court.
However, given the concurrent jurisdiction of the High Court and Sessions Court under Section 439 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), filing such a plea directly before the High Court is not prohibited.
“However, since there is concurrent jurisdiction of the High Court as also Sessions Court in terms of Section 439(2) of Cr.P.C. 1973, the filing of such a plea straight away before the High Court is not ipso facto barred. At the same time, it would be expedient that such a plea (filed straight away before the High Court) must show cogent reason(s) for not approaching the Sessions Court in the first instance,”
-the Court said.
Furthermore, the Court emphasized that a plea seeking the setting aside of a bail order, whether anticipatory or regular, must be filed before a court superior to the one that granted the bail.
In the case at hand, the Court found no allegations of misuse of the concession of anticipatory bail and dismissed the petitions seeking to set aside the anticipatory bail orders passed by the Sessions Court in Faridabad.
“The sole plank of argument raised on behalf of the petitioner is that the complete recovery of dowry articles/Istridhan has not been made and hence the Sessions Court ought not to have granted the anticipatory bail to the private respondent(s). It is trite law that non-recovery of dowry articles/stridhan cannot, by itself, be a ground for declining a plea for grant of anticipatory bail to the husband or his relatives,”
-the Court concluded.
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