IMPORTANT POINT
If a Magistrate goes beyond his jurisdiction and ignores the specific prohibition of law by granting bail for a non-bailable offence, when there appear reasonable grounds for believing that the accused had been guilty of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life. The Sessions Judge will be justified in canceling the bail on this ground alone.

JUDGMENT

V. P. Mathur, J.-The abovenamed revisionists were granted bail in a case under Sections 147, 148 and 302/149 of the Indian Penal Code by Mr. V.K. Jain, Chief Judicial Magistrate of Fatehpur on 12-7-1984. An application for cancellation of bail was moved before the Sessions Judge of Fatehpur by the State and the learned Sessions Judge, vide, his order dated 31-7-1984 cancelled the bail granted by the Chief Judicial Magistrate and took the five applicants into custody after canceling their bail bonds and surety-deeds. Against this order of the learned Sessions Judge, the present revision has been filed.

2. To understand the matter better, facts of the case have to be shortly mentioned. One Sri Pannalal Gupta of Bindki town was allegedly murdered on 24-6'1.984 at about 10 in the night. The report was lodged in the Police Station at Bandki at 4.30 A.M. Eight persons were named as assailants. They include the present five revisionists, and one Sri Madan Singh, Station Officer, Bindki and one Sri Goreylal who is alleged to have fired the fatal shot with a gun. It was a case of spot death and the first informant Sri Kailash Nath Gupta a close relative of the deceased was allegedly accompanying him at the time of the occurrence. Besides the complainant, the other eye-witnesses are Om Dutt, Mandu and Aziz, and in their statements under section 161 Criminal Procedure Code, they have supported prosecution version completely naming all the eight accused persons including the five present revisionists. It is said that these persons encircled the deceased and while all of them challenged him and wanted that he should be done to death, Goreylal fired from his gun and killed Sri Pannalal Gupta. Then Sri Madan Singh is said to have said that the work was over and all should go.

3. It is undoubted that the case is one in which the offence is punishable with death or imprisonment for life. The learned Sessions Judge is of the view that under Section 437 Criminal Procedure Code, bail could not have been granted and the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate transgressed his jurisdiction and authority in granting the bail. Only on this ground, the bail granted to the five applicants has been canceled. This order has been passed by Mr. N. K. Maheshwari, District and Sessions Judge, Fatehpur.

4. The learned counsel for the applicants however contends that the bail once granted could not have been cancelled except under certain circumstances which he enumerates as hampering the investigation in any manner, tampering with the evidence by intimidating the witnesses and the possibility of the absconding or going underground of the accused or their attempt to escape from the country or fly from justice.

5. Before we advert to the legal position, as to under what circumstances bail once granted could be cancelled, it will be better to look into the position of the provisions regarding grant of bail. Chapter XXXIII of the Criminal Procedure Code lays down the provisions as to bail and bonds. Section 437 is very relevant. It lays down that when any person accused of, or suspected of, the commission of any non-bailable offence is arrested or detained without warrant by an officer-incharge of the police station, or appears, or is brought before a Court, other than the High Court, or Court of Session he may be released on bail, but he will not be so released if there appear reasonable grounds for believing that he has been guilty of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life; and also if the offence is a cognizable offence and he had been previously convicted of an offence punishable with death, or imprisonment for life or imprisonment for seven years or more or had been previously convicted on two or more occasions of a non-bailable cognizable offence. Section 436 Criminal Procedure Code with which Chapter XXXIII of the New Code opens, makes a rule for bail in case of bailable offence, subject to specified exception under the sub-section 2