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Bail

/beɪl/

Legal Term

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Definition

Release of an accused on security (monetary or personal) pending trial. Regular, anticipatory, or interim.

Jurisdiction: International

Etymology

Anglo-French: bail 'custody', from bailler 'to deliver', from Latin bajulare 'to bear a burden'.

Examples

A person arrested for theft (a bailable offence) is entitled to bail as a matter of right upon furnishing surety — the police cannot refuse.

A person arrested for murder (a non-bailable offence) must apply to a Magistrate or Sessions Court — it is discretionary.

Case Study

In Sanjay Chandra v. CBI (2011), the Supreme Court held that bail is the rule and jail is the exception — courts cannot mechanically deny bail. Personal liberty under Article 21 must be respected even in economic offence cases.

Key Cases

Sanjay Chandra v. CBI (2G Scam)

2011

(2012) 1 SCC 40

Bail is the rule, jail the exception. Liberty under Article 21 prevails even in economic offences unless specific grounds for denial are established.

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Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar

2014

(2014) 8 SCC 273

Guidelines to prevent automatic arrests in matrimonial cases. Police must apply mind before arresting; magistrates must check compliance before remanding.

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Also Known As

release on bailbond

Synonyms

release on bondprovisional releaseconditional releasesurety

Antonyms / Opposites

remandcustodydetention

Related Terms

anticipatory baildefault bailbailable offencenon-bailable offenceSection 436 CrPCArticle 21

Dictionary Entry

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