In Brief
A Chief Priest of a temple was arrested following a stampede that killed seven pilgrims during a religious festival at his temple. The High Court granted bail conditional on paying Rs.70 lakhs to the victims' families, but the petitioner claimed he lacked the means. The Supreme Court held that bail cannot be conditioned on deposits beyond an applicant's financial capacity. Since the petitioner was not named in the F.I.R., appeared uninvolved in causing the stampede (which resulted from congestion and rush), and incarceration was unnecessary for investigation, the Court waived the payment condition and remitted the matter to the Judicial Magistrate to grant bail on appropriate conditions.
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