Bail Jurisprudence
Conditions and Constitutional Limits
The power to impose bail conditions derives from the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), now largely subsumed in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. Bail conditions must serve legitimate purposes: ensuring attendance at trial, preventing evidence tampering, and protecting witnesses. Courts cannot impose conditions that are punitive, humiliating, or unrelated to these purposes. The Supreme Court in several judgments has emphasised that bail conditions must be reasonable, necessary, and proportionate. Conditions imposed as a form of extrajudicial punishment — such as mandatory cleaning of public premises — are ultra vires the power to grant bail.
- Bail conditions must be reasonable and proportionate to the purpose of securing trial attendance.
- BNSS 2023 replaced the CrPC; bail provisions are covered under Sections 478–482.
- The Supreme Court has previously struck down conditions like mandatory payment to a police welfare fund as improper.
- Courts cannot use bail conditions to punish, humiliate, or impose social service unrelated to the case.
● Tracked since May 04, 2026 · last seen May 22, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes