Courts Should Be Mindful Of Person's Financial Status While Fixing Surety Amount In Bail Orders: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court noted that large number of the persons who belong to marginalised sections of the society are unable to arrange or provide sureties fixed arbitrarily by the trial courts

The Allahabad High Court in a recent order directed trial courts to ensure that the orders granting bail consider the socio-economic status of the bail applicant. Calling it a serious matter, the court noted that large number of the persons who belong to marginalised sections of the society are unable to arrange or provide sureties fixed arbitrarily by the trial courts.

The high court said that an order granting bail should not be frustrated because of the arbitrary surety conditions imposed by courts without considering the socio-economic status of the person seeking bail. 

The high court observed that those belonging to financially poor or from the marginalised sections of society may not be able to afford complying with such bail conditions and pay such a surety. 

A bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot observed that it is the trial court’s responsibility to apply their minds while granting bail in considering the socio-economic status of the accused while fixing sureties.

"This appears to be a serious matter. The large number of the persons who belong to marginalized sections of the society or financially destitute are unable to arrange or provide sureties fixed arbitrarily by the learned trial courts. To deal with this situation the constitutional Courts have constantly held that the right of bail cannot be defeated by arbitrary surety demands. It is the responsibility of the learned trial court to apply their minds to the socioeconomic status of the accused and accordingly fix the sureties. The law has cautioned against determining sureties in a mechanical manner," the high court order read.

The high court further observed that the applicant person could not approach the court for bail previously due to absence of legal aide.

"The applicant is financially destitute and belongs to a marginalized section of the society ... The applicant could not approach this Court at an earlier point in time to seek his remedy of bail as he did not have access to legal aid nor was given legal advice to approach this Court earlier and also did not possess resources to file the instant bail application," the high court order noted.