Case Title: Sushila Aggarwal &Ors. V. State (NCT of Delhi) & Ors.
According to the Supreme Court, anticipatory bail should not always be confined to a set amount of time. However, the five-judge panel led by Justice Arun Mishra has ruled that the court is free to limit the duration of anticipatory relief if any unique or unusual circumstances call for it.
The Court further held that, save in unusual and exceptional circumstances, the life or duration of an anticipatory bail order does not ordinarily end at the time and stage when the accused is called before the court or when charges are filed. Instead, it may continue until the conclusion of the trial.
Separate opinions written by Justices MR Shah and S. Ravindra Bhat concurred with one another. The ruling reached by both justices was supported by Justices Arun Mishra, Indira Banerjee, and Vineet Saran. The ruling in Shri Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia and others v. State of Punjab, according to the court, has to be reiterated. Salauddin Abdulsamad Shaikh v. State of Maharashtra, which limited the applicability of Section 438 of the Cr.PC was overturned by this decision. Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. was also overturned because it held that restrictions cannot be applied when giving an order of anticipatory bail, which is erroneous.
The following are the questions referred to the five-judge bench and the answers to it-
Whether the protection granted to a person under Section 438 CrPC should be limited to a fixed period so as to enable the person to surrender before the Trial Court and seek regular bail?
The protection granted to a person under Section 438 CrPC should not invariably be limited to a fixed period; it should incur in favour of the accused without any restriction on time. Normal conditions under Section 437 (3) read with Section 438 (2) should be imposed; if there are specific facts or features in regard to any offence, it is open for the court to impose any appropriate condition (including fixed nature of relief, or being tied to an event) etc.
Should the duration of an anticipatory bail expire when the accused is called before the court and at what point?
An anticipatory bail order's life or length does not often terminate when the accused is called before the court or when charges are filed; instead, it may last until the conclusion of the trial. Again, the court is free to set a restriction on the duration of anticipatory bail if any unique or unusual circumstances call for it.