Bail is a term which denotes the provisional release of an accused individual in a case in the criminal court, the decision of which is yet to be delivered. It essentially means a security deposit which guarantees that the accused will present himself in the court whenever required to. The objective of arresting someone is to ensure their presence in the Court to ensure the conveyance of justice. However, this guarantee is ensured by the grant of bail as it will ensure the person without violating his personal liberty. Bail is hence conditional liberty which is granted to the accused.
Types of Bail
- Firstly, Regular Bail – Envisaged under Section 437 and 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code, regular bail is granted to someone who has been arrested and is being kept in police custody.
- Secondly, Interim Bail – Interim bail is granted to an accused before the hearing of the regular or anticipatory bail takes place, it is granted for a short time period.
- Moreover, Anticipatory Bail – A person who feels he may be arrested by the police for an offense which is non-bailable in nature can file an application for an anticipatory bail which acts as an advanced bail. It is envisaged under section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code. A person who has been granted anticipatory bail by the Court cannot be arrested by the police.
- Lastly, Statutory bail (default bail) – covered under Section 167(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 where a trial judge grants bail upon failure to file a charge sheet by the police. Bail is normally granted on merit with the except default bail.
How to Apply for Bail?
The process to file a bail is dependent on what stage, the criminal matter is. Depending on the position of the case, the type of bail varies. In a situation where the individual is not yet arrested; but is afraid that an FIR may be filed against him; a criminal lawyer can be hired to file an anticipatory bail. 
If the person has already been arrested, then the bail application can be filed in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the criminal procedure code. The Court will then approve the application and is to be presented to the police to get the person out of jail. The amount of the bail bond is decided upon the discretion of the Court.
Conditions for Bail
Bailable Offences
Grant of bail in an offense that falls under the category of Bailable offenses is a matter of right. It is covered under article 436 of the CrPC. It states that any person accused of any bailable offence according to the Indian Penal Code can be released on Bail.
According to the IPC, offences which can be classified under bailable offences are:
- Unlawful assembly
- Payment of bribe during election
- Fabrication of false evidence
- Being armed with a deadly weapon
- The threat of injury to a public servant
- Stalking, criminal defamation, etc.
In the above-given cases, the person can hire a lawyer to file anticipatory or regular bail. Certain conditions which can affect the grant of the bail are; enough reasons to infer that the person has not committed the offense, sufficient reasons to conduct a further inquiry, etc.
Non-Bailable Offences
Bail in cases where the person is accused of committing an offense which is classified as a non-bailable offense is not a matter of right, but a matter of the discretion of the Court.
Envisaged under Section 437, the Court is granted the power to grant bail to even those under a charge of committing a non-bailable offense. However, these offenses include sedition, attempting to wage war against the government, adulteration of drugs, murder, culpable homicide, dowry death abduction of a child, human trafficking, etc.
Bail for these offenses is granted on the basis of certain factors such as; if the accused is a child or a woman; lack of adequate evidence; delay in registering of offense by the complainant; the person is physically sick.
The Court also possesses the power to cancel a granted bail at any stage; moreover, this power is under section 437(5) and 439(2) of the CrPC. The Court can only cancel a bail granted by the Court and not the police.
-By Aryan Dhingra
B.B.A LLB 2nd Year student of OP Jindal Global University