In Brief
This Supreme Court judgment establishes comprehensive guidelines for bail in criminal cases, reaffirming that bail is the rule and detention is the exception. The Court categorizes offenses and provides guidelines: offenses punishable up to 7 years (Category A) favor bail if the accused was not arrested during investigation and cooperated; serious offenses (Category B) and special acts (Category C, like NDPS) require case-by-case assessment; economic offenses (Category D) must be evaluated on merits considering gravity and circumstances. Courts must comply with Section 41 and 41A procedures; non-compliance entitles accused to bail. Inordinate delay in trial, appeal, or investigation triggers bail as a matter of right. Section 170 does not mandate arrest at chargesheet filing. Bail conditions must be reasonable under Section 440, and undertrials serving half the maximum sentence have an indefeasible right to bail under Section 436A.
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