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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
Ajay Bhanot, J
Prakash Nut And 4 Others – Appellant
Versus
State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko. – Respondent
APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 994 of 2025
Certainly. Here are the key legal points derived from the provided document:
The trial court's requirement for local sureties in bail proceedings must be reasonable and consider the socioeconomic status and individual circumstances of the accused. Arbitrary or mechanical fixation of sureties violates the right to personal liberty (!) (!) .
The law mandates that accused persons should be allowed to furnish sureties from their place of residence or home district, especially if they are unable to provide sureties from the district where the charges are pending. This approach upholds their fundamental rights and ensures fair treatment (!) .
If an accused is unable to furnish the fixed local sureties, they or their counsel can apply for a reduction or variation of the surety amount, providing relevant socioeconomic details to facilitate an expedited review (!) (!) .
The authorities, including the designated legal service agencies, have an obligation to examine the socioeconomic conditions of the accused and assist them in complying with bail conditions, especially for marginalized or economically disadvantaged individuals (!) (!) .
Orders that impose onerous surety conditions unrelated to the accused’s socioeconomic reality are unlawful and can unjustly restrict their liberty after bail has been granted (!) .
When the trial court's fixation of sureties is found to be inconsistent with legal requirements, such orders should be set aside, and the matter should be remanded to the appropriate judicial authority to determine suitable sureties based on the accused’s actual circumstances (!) (!) (!) .
The process of verifying and accepting sureties should be expedited to prevent unnecessary detention or delay in the liberty of the accused, with proper consideration given to their residential and socioeconomic backgrounds (!) (!) .
These points emphasize the importance of fair, individualized assessment of surety requirements in bail proceedings, respecting the rights and socioeconomic realities of accused persons.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. applicants unable to comply with local surety requirements. (Para 1 , 4 , 5) |
| 2. counsel asserts the imposition of local surety is arbitrary. (Para 2 , 3 , 6) |
| 3. sureties should consider socioeconomic context. (Para 7 , 9) |
| 4. court remits case for revised local surety conditions. (Para 10 , 11 , 12 , 13) |
AFR Court No. - 15 HON'BLE AJAY BHANOT, J.
1. The applicants are aggrieved by the sureties fixed by the learned trial court while granting bail to them by orders dated 01.08.2025 and 25.07.2025. As per the impugned orders, only local sureties have to be furnished by the applicants.
2. Shri Nijam Ahamad, learned counsel for the applicants contends that the applicants assailing the condition of local sureties required to be furnished by the applicants in the order granting bail submits that the learned trial court has made surety demands in a mechanical manner and without due application of mind to the relevant considerations as laid down in the judgement rendered by this Court in Arvind Singh v. State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Deptt. (Application U/S 482 No.2613 of 2023. Shri Nijam Ahamad, learned counsel for the applicants further contends that all the applicants have relations in district-Chandauli and can furnish sureties from the aforesaid district.
3. Learned A.G.A. submits that the sureties have to be fixed by the learned trial court as per law.
4. The criminal cases are pending against the applicants in district-Ambedkar Nagar. The five applicants have been enlarged on bail by the learned trial court at Ambedkar Nagar.
5. However, they have not been set forth at liberty despite grant of bail due to their inability to furnish local sureties fixed by the learned trial court. The local sureties fixed by the court below in these facts and circumstances are arbitrary and negate the bails granted by the trial court. The applicants no.1 to 4 are residents of district Chandauli, while the applicant No.5 is the resident of district-Rohtas (Bihar). It is informed that the applicant No.5 can arrange sureties in district-Chandauli.
6. A large number of the persons who belong to marginalized sections of the society or are financially destitute are often unable to arrange or provide sureties fixed arbitrarily by the learned trial courts. To deal with this situation the Constitutional Courts have held that the order granting bail cannot be defeated by arbitrary surety demands and have cautioned against determining sureties in a mechanical manner. Obligation is cast by law upon the learned trial court to apply its mind to the socioeconomic status of the accused and other relevant factors in a case while determining the sureties to be furnished by the said accused.
7. While examining the issue pertaining to failure of accused persons to furnish sureties which are arbitrarily or mechanically fixed by the learned trial courts, this Court in Arvind Singh (supra) passed the following directions:
"24. However despite unequivocal holdings of various constitutional courts the trial courts continue to adopt a rote response to a dynamic problem and approach the issue of fixation of sureties in a mechanical manner and neglect to make requisite enquiries as contemplated in the preceding parts of the judgment. The duties of the trial courts as well as other agencies while fixing sureties can be summed up as under:-
(1) In case a prisoner cannot arrange the sureties fixed by the trial court the former can make an application to the learned trial court for a lesser surety. Material facts relating to the socioeconomic status and roots in the community of the prisoner shall be stated in the application.
(2) Similarly it is bounden duty of the DLSA to examine the status of the prisoners who have been enlarged on bail but are not set at liberty within seven days of the bail order. In case the prisoners cannot arrange for sureties they may be advised and assisted to promptly move an application for refixation of the surety in light of this judgme
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