Bail Jurisprudence
General Principles and UAPA Departure
Under ordinary criminal law (Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Section 437 and 439), bail is a rule and jail an exception, particularly for bailable offences. For non-bailable offences, courts exercise wide discretion. Under special laws such as UAPA, NDPS (Section 37), PMLA (Section 45), and POCSO, Parliament has imposed twin-condition or presumptive denial regimes that reverse this presumption. The Supreme Court in Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI (2022) reiterated that bail should not be withheld as punishment and courts must avoid mechanical denial.
- CrPC Section 437: Bail for non-bailable offences — discretion of magistrate.
- CrPC Section 439: Sessions Court/High Court's special powers of bail.
- PMLA Section 45: Twin conditions for bail (similar stringency as UAPA).
- Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI (2022): Comprehensive bail guidelines to prevent unnecessary incarceration.
● Tracked since May 04, 2026 · last seen May 22, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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