Bail in Non-Bailable Offences (Section 497)
- Section 497: Divides non-bailable offences into two categories/clauses — prohibitory and non-prohibitory.
- Prohibitory clause: Court may not ordinarily extend the benefit of bail in this clause.
- Non-prohibitory clause: Covers offences punishable with death, imprisonment for life, or imprisonment above 10 years — all of these fall in the non-prohibitory clause distinction relevant to the prohibitory bar; note the general rule that grant of bail in non-bailable offences under the non-prohibitory clause is the rule, and refusal is the exception.
- Section 497(1): When a person accused of a non-bailable offence is arrested/detained without warrant by an officer in charge of a police station, or appears/is brought before a Court, he may be released on bail.
- Statutory bail: Bail can be filed on statutory ground due to delay in trial.
- Cancellation of bail: Bail can be cancelled when the order is illegal, erroneous, or factually incorrect (All of these).