SC raises bail bar

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ruled that the gravity of offence must be considered before a person is granted bail.

Scrapping the Allahabad High Court judgment that granted bail to a lawyer husband and his wife who were charged with murdering their friend in their own bed room, the Apex Court said, “By now it is a well-settled principle of law that one of the considerations in granting bail in non-bailable offences is the gravity and the nature of the offence.”

Recalling another case involving UP minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani  who were charged with hatching a conspiracy to murder Amarmani’s poetess ‘friend’ Madhumita Shukla, the judges observed that various circumstances must be considered while granting bail.

The court has to see whether there is any prima facie or reasonable ground to believe that the accused had committed the offence. It must look into the nature and gravity of the charge and severity of the punishment in the event of conviction.  It should be also probed if a bail seeker could abscond or flee.

His or her character, behaviour, means, position and social and economic standing must not be overlooked.