Summary
Accused in a fatal assault challenged the High Court’s cancellation of their bail. The Court held that the Sessions Court had prematurely assessed CCTV and witness discrepancies while overlooking material supporting a prima facie case, the gravity of the offence and the risk to fair trial. It upheld cancellation and required surrender.
Issues
- Whether serious infirmities in the original bail orders justified interference despite the absence of alleged subsequent misuse.
- Whether the Sessions Court properly assessed the CCTV, custody duration and other materials.
- Whether charge and bail should be decided through a common order.
Held
- Bail requires a judicious assessment of the prima facie case, seriousness, evidence, flight risk, witness impact and tampering concerns without exhaustive adjudication of merits. Charge-framing and bail involve different considerations, so disposing of both by a common order is undesirable. (¶ 16–20)
- The Sessions Court overreached into CCTV and witness discrepancies and overlooked eyewitness accounts, recoveries and injuries supporting a prima facie case. Custody exceeding a year did not by itself entitle these murder accused to bail. The Court made no final determination of guilt. (¶ 21–27)
- A bail order may be set aside for serious infirmity or perversity, including disregard of relevant material or reliance on irrelevant considerations; subsequent misuse is not indispensable in such circumstances. The pending examination of material witnesses and protection of a fair trial justified the High Court’s intervention here. (¶ 28–32)
Result
All appeals dismissed; cancellation of bail upheld. All appellant-accused directed to surrender before the Committal Court within one week.