Summary
The Supreme Court set aside bail orders in three connected appeals concerning a fatal armed attack. The first order failed to consider material bearing on conspiracy and gravity; foreign nationality conferred no special entitlement. The second depended on parity with that invalid order. The third used an anticipatory-bail proceeding to compel release by the trial court and then closed the petition as infructuous, overlooking proclaimed-offender status. These were challenges to the legality of bail grants, not applications requiring proof of later misconduct.
Issues
- Whether the original and parity bail orders ignored material considerations.
- Whether a High Court could compel trial-court bail through the described surrender procedure.
Held
- A legal challenge to a bail grant for non-consideration of material differs from cancellation founded on subsequent breach or misconduct. No supervening breach was required to test the challenged order’s sustainability here. (¶¶ 12, 13)
- The first grant inadequately addressed the alleged central conspiracy role and the seriousness apparent from the material, including the CD. Nationality did not justify preferential treatment. The Court’s assessment was prima facie and expressly did not determine guilt. (¶¶ 11, 14)
- The connected parity grant lost its foundation when the principal bail order was set aside; the Court also found the same underlying reasons opposed bail on the record. (¶¶ 15, 16)
- In the third appeal the High Court effectively commanded the subordinate court to grant bail upon surrender, then dismissed its own petition as infructuous after that release. This undermined independent trial-court consideration, and the prior proclaimed-offender status had been overlooked. The circuitous procedure was held abusive. (¶¶ 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
Result
All three appeals allowed and challenged bail orders set aside. Immediate custody expressly directed for the respondents in the first and third appeals; parity bail in the second also set aside. Merits of guilt not decided.