AIR 1978 SUPREME COURT 429 ::1978 Cri App R (SC) 35 ::(1978) 1 SCC 240 ::1978 AllCriC 80 ::1978 SCC(Cri) 115 ::1978 SimLC 220 ::(1978) 2 SCR 371 ::(1978) 1 SC WR 446 ::1978 SC Cri R 99

Supreme Court Of India

Hon'ble Judge(s): V. R. Krishna Iyer , J

Criminal P.C. (2 of 1974) , S.436, S.437— Judicial discretion to grant bail - Criteria for grant or refusal of bail, stated. "Bail of jail?" at the pre-trial or post-conviction stage belongs to the blurred area of the criminal justice system and largely hinges on the hunch of the bench, otherwise called judicial discretion.(Para 1) Personal liberty, deprived when bail is refused, is too precious a value of our constitutional system recognised under Art 21 of the Constitution that the crucial power to negate it is a great trust exercisable not casually but judicially, with lively concern for the cost to the individual and the community.(Para 1) The relevant criteria for grant or refusal of bail in the case of a person who has either been convicted and has appealed or one whose conviction has been set aside but leave has been granted by the Supreme Court to appeal against the acquittal are as follows : When the crime charged (of which a conviction has been sustained) is of the highest magnitude and the punishment of it assigned by law is of extreme severity, the court may reasonably presume, some evidence warranting, that no amount of bail would secure the presence of the convict at the stage of judgment, should he be enlarged.(Para 6) The nature of the ....