Supreme Court: Bail in Murder Cases Requires Careful Consideration, Not Routine Grant

On 2 May 2023, The Supreme Court of India, in a recent judgement OMPRAKASH SAHNI Vs JAI SHANKAR CHAUDHARY & ANR. ETC., has emphasized that the grant of bail under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in cases involving serious offences like murder should only be done in exceptional cases. The Court further stated that the power to grant bail under this provision should not be used as a matter of routine and should be exercised carefully and judiciously after considering all relevant factors.

The judgement was delivered by a bench comprising Justices M.R. Shah and J.B. Pardiwala, and pertained to a case involving the suspension of sentence and grant of bail to two convicts who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.

The Court relied on previous judgements to lay down the principles governing the grant of bail under Section 389 of the CrPC in cases involving serious offences like murder. It held that the court must objectively assess the matter and record reasons for suspending the execution of the sentence and granting bail. The court should consider factors like the nature of the accusation, the manner in which the crime was committed, the gravity of the offence, and the desirability of releasing the accused on bail after conviction for committing the serious offence of murder.

The Court further stated that while undertaking the exercise to ascertain whether the convict has fair chances of acquittal, the Appellate Court should not re-appreciate the evidence at the stage of Section 389 of the CrPC and try to pick up few lacunas or loopholes here or there in the case of the prosecution. Such an approach would not be correct.

The Court also observed that any observations touching the merits of the case were purely for the purpose of deciding the present appeals and shall not be construed as an expression of the final opinion in the pending criminal appeals before the High Court.

The impugned order passed by the High Court was set aside, and the convicts were ordered to surrender before the Trial Court within a period of three days from the date of the judgement.

OMPRAKASH SAHNI Vs JAI SHANKAR CHAUDHARY & ANR. ETC.