The Supreme Court has drawn a clear line on bail cancellation, ruling that a High Court can step in to revoke bail by invoking its inherent powers—even when a Sessions Court has already dismissed such a request.
The ruling came while deciding an appeal against a Kerala High Court order that had cancelled bail in a sensitive case. A bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice A.G. Masih made it clear that invoking Section 439(2) alongside Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides a valid route to approach the High Court.
The appellant had argued that once the Sessions Court turns down a cancellation plea under Section 439(2), the only permissible path was either a revision challenge or a petition under Section 482 alone. The Supreme Court, however, disagreed, pointing out that in this case the plea before the High Court had rightly been framed under Section 482 read with Section 439(2). This meant the High Court’s inherent powers were in play, leaving no procedural barrier.
The Court observed:
“Nothing prevented the High Court from exercising its inherent powers when the application was filed under Section 482 read with Section 439(2) CrPC.”
Yet, while affirming the High Court’s jurisdiction, the Supreme Court did not endorse its conclusion on merits. It set aside the Kerala High Court’s order, stressing that bail cannot be cancelled merely because of the accused’s antecedents. This reasoning restored bail to an accused in the case concerning the murder of an SDPI leader.
The matter was titled Abhimanue v. State of Kerala.