Jaipur : 47 years ago, the Supreme Court, referring to the important right of the High Court to grant bail, had said in a case of Rajasthan, “Bail is a right and jail is an exception”. As soon as there is an arrest or apprehension of arrest, the first thing to do is to rush for bail, so that one has to stay in jail as little as possible. This has also been given prominence in the new criminal laws, under which Section 35 of the Indian Civil Security Code (BNSS) requires notice before arrest in crimes punishable with 3 to 7 years, while Section 479 gives the right to bail to a person imprisoned for the first crime after serving one-third of the total sentence. Similarly, in the Indian Justice Code (BNS), crimes have been divided into two parts, bailable and non-bailable. There is a right to anticipatory bail before arrest and after arrest, from the police station to appearance before the magistrate, before or after the charge sheet, at the time of trial and after the sentence is passed. In such a situation, before applying for bail, it is important to know which sections the crime is related to, what are the provisions for bail?
Leniency: Section 479(1) of BNSS: Bail for first offence after serving one-third of sentence, not available in CrPC.
Strictness: Section 479(2) of BNSS: No bail if multiple offences are registered, this was not the case in CrPC.
Automatic release – Section 479(2) of BNSS: The jail superintendent will present a bail application for grant of bail after serving one-third or half of the imprisonment.
Anticipatory bail: There is no anticipatory bail in BNSS for gang rape of a minor. CrPC only prohibits gang rape of a girl below 16 years of age.
Bail provisions under sections 478 to 483 of the BNSS
Section 478: Bail in cases like assault, threat, death due to negligence, negligent driving.
Section 479(1): Bail on completion of half the sentence, other than imprisonment for life or death.
Bail even if one-third of the jail term is less than the first offence.
Section 479(2): No bail if there is more than one offence.
Section 479(3): The jail superintendent shall present the application for bail.
Section 480 (1): No bail if the person is likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment or death or has been sentenced to 3 to 7 years two or more times. Women, children, sick or disabled people are exempted from this. It is mandatory to hear the government’s side for bail.
Section 480(3): Condition for bail possible in case of sentence exceeding seven years.
Section 481(1): Compulsory to attend High Court when summoned until appeal is decided.
Section 482(1): Anticipatory bail can be granted.
Section 483: Special powers of High Court or Court of Session
Schedule under BNSS: It contains provisions for offences under Indian Criminal Code and their punishment and competent courts.
