The Supreme Court has allowed the legal heirs of a deceased accused to withdraw ₹20 lakh deposited as a condition of bail. In setting aside the Bombay High Court’s refusal, the Bench relied on the presumption of innocence and kept the criminal proceedings apart from the complainant’s pending civil suit, which remains unaffected.
New Delhi: When the accused died and the case against him abated, his family asked for the ₹20 lakh he had deposited as a bail condition; the Supreme Court has now permitted its withdrawal, holding that the money could not be withheld from the legal heirs merely because the complainant claimed an interest in it [Akshay & Others v. State of Maharashtra & Another].
Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B. Varale passed the order on October 28, 2026; it was uploaded on November 7. The appeal concerned the return of the deposit after the accused’s death and the abatement of the criminal proceedings against him.
A bail condition and a civil claim are distinct
In paragraphs 7 and 8, the Supreme Court held that the High Court had erred. The Bench emphasised the distinction between a criminal case and a civil case, and recalled that the presumption of innocence is a foundational principle of criminal law.
The purpose for which the money had been deposited was central to the decision: the earlier direction was imposed as a condition for granting bail. The Court did not treat that deposit as an adjudication of the complainant’s civil entitlement.
The order does not determine whether the complainant is entitled to recover any amount in the civil proceedings. Instead, it separates that unresolved claim from the question of whether the heirs should be allowed to withdraw a deposit made for bail.
How the heirs came to ask
The High Court had imposed the ₹20 lakh deposit as a condition while granting bail to the deceased. After his death, the trial court recorded that the proceedings against him had abated, and his legal heirs sought permission from the High Court to withdraw the money.
The High Court turned them down on the ground that the complainant had an interest in the deposit. The heirs challenged that refusal before the Supreme Court. A separate civil suit instituted by the complainant was also pending.
Withdrawal permitted; civil suit unaffected
The Bench set aside the impugned order and permitted the appellants to withdraw the amount deposited by the deceased. Paragraph 11 expressly states that the decision will have no bearing on the pending civil suit.
The criminal appeal was allowed and pending applications were disposed of. The ruling is thus confined to the bail deposit and does not decide the merits of the complainant’s separate civil case.
Case Title: Akshay & Others v. State of Maharashtra & Another
Case Number: Criminal Appeal No. 5298/2026; Diary No. 58699/2024
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B. Varale
Order Date: October 28, 2026
Outcome: Appeal allowed; heirs permitted to withdraw ₹20 lakh; pending civil suit unaffected.