In Brief
The Supreme Court considered whether an accused could surrender and obtain regular bail from a trial court while a pre-arrest bail application was pending before the Supreme Court itself. The Court held that such surrender and bail applications during the pendency of pre-arrest proceedings constitute an abuse of process. The Court recalled its interim pre-arrest bail order and the regular bail granted by the trial court, directing the accused to surrender within 15 days or face apprehension. The judgment addresses the problematic practice in some subordinate courts of granting regular bail while superior courts are seized of pre-arrest bail matters, and directs that this practice be discontinued and discouraged nationwide.
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