The Supreme Court on Thursday said that granting bail and then imposing heavy conditions is like snatching with the left hand what is given by the right hand.
The court said that any order which would protect the fundamental right of the individual under Article 21 of the Constitution and guarantee his presence would be reasonable.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Vishwanathan delivered its verdict on a plea filed by a man against whom 13 FIRs have been registered in several states for various offences, including fraud.
The petitioner had argued in the court that he had been granted bail in these 13 cases and he had fulfilled the bail conditions in two of these cases.
The apex court said the main argument of the petitioner was that he was not in a position to provide separate sureties as directed in the remaining 11 bail orders.
The bench said, “Today the situation is that despite getting bail in 13 cases, the petitioner has not been able to provide a surety.” The court said, “Granting bail and then imposing heavy and onerous conditions is like snatching with the left hand what has been given by the right hand.”
Citing the case, the bench said the petitioner was facing “genuine difficulty” in finding multiple sureties.
The bench said that it is necessary to have a surety to ensure the presence of the accused released on bail.
The court said that the surety is often a close relative or an old friend and the scope may be even narrower in criminal proceedings as the general tendency is not to inform relatives and friends about such proceedings in order to protect one’s reputation.
The bench said, “These are the grave realities of life in our country and as a court we cannot turn a blind eye to them. However, the solution has to be found within the ambit of law.”
It said one of the bail orders in an FIR lodged in Rajasthan had an order for providing local sureties.
The court said that the petitioner is a resident of Haryana and it would be difficult for him to get a local surety. The bench said, “Keeping in mind the principles discussed above, we direct that for the pending FIRs in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttarakhand, the petitioner in each state shall furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and furnish two sureties who shall furnish a bond of Rs 30,000 each and this shall be valid for all FIRs in the respective state….”
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