![PMF IAS Test Series for UPSC Prelims Banner Ad](https://www.pmfias.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PMF-IAS-Test-Series-for-UPSC-Prelims-2025-Banner-Ad.png)
Statutory Bail
Subscribers of "Current Affairs" course can Download Daily Current Affairs in PDF/DOC
Subscribe to Never Miss an Important Update! Assured Discounts on New Products!
Must Join PMF IAS Telegram Channel & PMF IAS History Telegram Channel
- Context (IE): Despite being granted bail by the Delhi High Court, JNU scholar Sharjeel Imam remains in custody due to other pending cases (E.g. 2020 North East Delhi riots).
- He was arrested in 2020 for allegedly delivering an inflammatory speech and has been charged with sedition and unlawful activity under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Grounds for statutory bail
- Section 436-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) allows an undertrial to be released on bail if they have served half of the maximum period of imprisonment prescribed for the offence.
- Section 436-A aimed to tackle the issue of the rising population of undertrials in prison.
|
- For bailable offences, it is mandatory for courts to grant bail under Section 436 of the CrPC. In the case of non-bailable offences, it is the court’s discretion to grant bail.
Types of Bail
|
|
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)
- The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) is an anti-terror law enacted in 1967 and strengthened through amendments in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2019.
- The act defines a terrorist act as any act committed with the intent to threaten India’s unity, integrity, security, economic security, or sovereignty or to strike terror in the people.
- In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that mere membership of an unlawful outfit is a UAPA offence.
- It gives the state more power than the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including more time to file chargesheets. Bail conditions are stringent, with courts having little room for judicial reasoning.