BAIL IN CRIMINAL LAW: ANALYZING JUDICIAL DISCRETION AND ITS IMPACT ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Abstract

Bail in the criminal law is the release of accused on satisfying the terms and condition of bail and to appear when required before the court. It is founded on the premise that an individual is “presumed innocent until proven guilty”, hence preserving equilibrium between the rights of the accused and the fundamental tenets of justice. Bail is awarded as a matter of right in bailable charges, whereas in non-bailable ones, it is at the court's discretion. There are certain kinds of bail like “regular bail”, “interim bail” and “anticipatory bail”. Bail in the criminal justice system act as safeguard to protect the rights of individual at the same time ensuring liberty of accused and fair trial. The paper deals with the concept of bail under criminal law and its historical background in England, America and India. It also covers the types of bail both in “bailable offences and non bailable offences”. It further focus on misuse of bail by the accused persons and it also deals with the Judicial Precedent which the cases and circumstances in which accused misuses the bail provisions of criminal law creating hurdles in the delivery of justice. It also covers the recommendations of Law Commission on the bail related issues. It further deals with role of criminal justice system in granting bail to the accused as well as that the grant of bail while exercising Judicial Discretion. It also covers the provisions of judicial discretion under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). So, bail is very necessary and important provision under BNSS that ensures that rights of accused to be maintained while delivering the justice and judicial discretion should be exercised cautiously while granting bail in non- bailable offences.