Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 528—Order passed by Judicial Magistrate vide which the bail granted to the petitioner stands cancelled and petitioner was ordered to be summoned through warrants of arrest in a complaint case filed under Section 138 of the NI Act—Challenged—Petitioner, after the grant of bail, was regularly appearing before the court below—On a particular date, the petitioner inadvertently failed to appear before the court below on account of his ill health—Trial court, straight away proceeded to issue non-bailable warrants against the petitioner—This amount to an unjustifiable restriction on the procedural rights of the petitioner in the absence of any misconduct, lack of bona fides, or a deliberate attempt to evade the proceedings on his behalf—Issuance of NBWs must not be exercised in a mechanical manner—It must be adopted sparingly and only upon recording cogent reasons that reflect the necessity of such a stringent course—Keeping in view the entirety of the facts and circumstances of the case; especially the factum of the prime object of bail and forfeiture of bail bonds being securing the presence of the accused, the petitioner-accused having come forward himself to face trial, willingness shown by petitioner-accused to appear before the trial court on each and every date in accordance with law, the petitioner having submitted that he shall cooperate for an expeditious culmination of the trial and there being no tangible material brought forward to indicate the likelihood of the petitioner to interfere with the prosecution evidence, the petition in hand deserves to be allowed—Impugned order set aside—Petition allowed.
[Paras 6 to 8]