State of Rajasthan, Jaipur v. Balchand @ Baliay
KRISHNA IYER, J. The petitioner moves for bail having surrender
ed after leave was granted to the State to file an appeal against acquittal
by the High Court.
ll
li36 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [l 978] 1 S.C.R.
The basic rule may perhaps be tersely put as bail, not jail, except
where there are circumstances suggestive of fleeing from justice or
thwarting the course of justice or creating other troubles in the shape
of repeating offences or intimidating witnesses and the like, by the peti
tioner who seeks enlargement on bail from the court. 'We do not
intend to be exhaustive but only illustrative.
It is true that the gravity of the offence involved is likely to induce
the petitioner to avoid the course of justice and must weigh with us
when considering the question of jail. So also the heinousness of the
crime. Even so, the record of the petitioner in this case is that, while
be has been on bail throughout in the trial court and he was released
after the judgment of the High Court, there is nothing to suggest that
he has abused the trust placed in him by the cour~; his social circums
tances also are not so unfavourable in the sense of his being a desparatc
character or unsocial elePJwnt who is likely to betray the confidence that
the court may place in him to turn up to take justice at the hands of the
court. He is stated to be a young man of 27 years with a family tu
maintain. The circumstances and the social milieu clo not militate
against the petitioner being granted bail at this stage. AL the same
time any possibility of the abscondencc or evasion or other abuse can
be taken care of by a direction that the petitioner will report him<clf
before the notice station at Baren once every fortnight.
'J'hs petitioner will be released. un bail on his entering into a bond
of his own and one surety for Rs. 5,000/- to the satisfaction of the
Additional District & Sessions Judge, Barcn. While the system of
pecuniary hail has a tradi'.ion behind it, the time has come for re
thinking on the subject. It may well be that in most cases not mone
tary suretyship but under! aking by relations of the petitioner or organi
sation to which he belongs may be better and more socially relevant.
Even so, in this case we stick to the practice and direct the furnishing
pf one surety for Rs. 5,000/-.
:\pplicatiOn for intcrvl)ntion al/:J\Vcd.
S.R !Jail gr({nted