On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that anticipatory bail can be granted to an individual in one case, even if they are already in custody for another case.

A Bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra delivered the judgment today.

The Court held, "There is no explicit or implicit restriction that prevents the Sessions Court or High Court from granting anticipatory bail to an accused who is in custody for another offense. Such a restriction would be contrary to the legislative intent. All rights conferred on the accused in relation to a particular offense are independent of their custody status in another case.

If anticipatory bail is granted for a subsequent offense while the accused is already in custody, the police cannot arrest them for that subsequent offense. Custody in one case does not negate the right to seek protection from arrest in a different case."

The question of law emerged from a case where a criminal complaint against an accused was initially quashed but later revived when the accused was arrested in a separate case. The accused subsequently filed an anticipatory bail plea before the Bombay High Court, which ruled on October 31 of the previous year that the petition was maintainable. This decision led to the current appeal.

The counsel for the appellant (informant) argued that anticipatory bail is granted based on a genuine apprehension of arrest, and is not an automatic right. Conversely, the counsel for the accused contended that such apprehension should not be deemed unfounded solely based on the discretion of the investigating officer. The Court today accepted the argument put forth by the accused.

The Bench reasoned that the procedure for granting anticipatory bail to an accused who is already in custody in another case must align with the fundamental rights to life, liberty, and a fair trial. Consequently, the Court rejected the appellant's arguments and dismissed the appeal.

Senior Advocates Sidharth Luthra and Gopal Sankaranarayanan with Advocates Prashant S Kenjale, Amol Nirmalkumar Suryawanshi, Srishty Pandey, Ashutosh Chaturvedi, Gayatri Virmani,and Shubham Gavande of Juristrust Law Offices appeared for the informant-appellant.

Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave with Advocates Vidhi Thaker, Shantanu Phanse, Sudhanva Bedekar, Prastut Dalvi and Siddhant Sharma appeared for the accused.