(Context not clear) Application for anticipatory bail is not a recovery proceeding: SC
Court directed that deposit of the amount of Rs 25 lakhs by the appellants would be subject to final outcome of the trial
The Supreme Court has said an application for anticipatory bail is not a recovery proceeding and the amount deposited by the accused before the trial court cannot be withdrawn by the complainant till the final outcome of the trial proceedings.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih allowed an appeal filed by one Kulandaiswamy and another person against the Madras High Court's order of July 25, 2024.
In the case, the appellants, who were accused no. 1 and 2, deposited a sum of Rs 25 lakhs with the Trial Court on October 21, 2024.
The court noted thus, the appellants had complied with condition no. (i) incorporated in the impugned order of July 25, 2024. In paragraph 2 of the impugned order, the High Court had permitted the said amount to be withdrawn by the complainant.
"An application for anticipatory bail is not a recovery proceeding, and, therefore, the amount cannot be withdrawn by the complainant," the bench said.
Accordingly, the court set aside paragraph 2 of the impugned order.
The bench directed that deposit of the amount of Rs 25 lakhs by the appellants would be subject to final outcome of the trial and the said amount would be invested in an interest bearing fixed deposit with any nationalised bank till the conclusion of the trial.
With this, the court thus directed the order of June 21, 2024 as modified by the order of July 25, 2024 passed by the High Court would continue to operate.
The Supreme Court had earlier too deprecated the practice of issuing orders by the courts to deposit money as a condition precedent for bail.
In its judgment of July 4, 2023 in Ramesh Kumar Vs The State of NCT of Delhi, the Supreme Court has highlighted "a disquieting trend emerging over the years which has gained pace in recent times" as in multiple cases in the past several months that upon First Information Reports being lodged inter alia under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, judicial proceedings initiated by persons, accused of cheating, to obtain orders under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, are unwittingly being transformed into processes for recovery of the quantum of money allegedly cheated and the courts driven to impose conditions for deposit/payment as pre-requisite for grant of pre-arrest bail.
Case Title: Kulandaiswamy & Anr Vs The State Rep By The Inspector of Police