Strange Bail Orders Passed in recent past

Section 437 of Criminal Procedure Code empowers the courts to impose conditions at the time of granting bail. At the time of deciding the application seeking bail, the court should look at prima facie material available and should not go into the merits of the case by appreciation of evidence.

The factors laid in the case of State of Maharashtra v. SitaramPopat Vital should be taken into consideration before granting bail. A balance between personal liberty and public justice should be maintained.

However, lately the courts have imposed strange conditions on bail orders, which have no nexus with the object of bail.

1. In a recent case of Som Marandi, former BJP MP, was granted bail on the condition of depositing Rs. 35000 in PM CARES fund and to download AarogyaSetu App.
2. RichaBharati, arrested for offensive posts on social media against Muslims in July 2019. She was given bail on the condition that she will have to distribute five copies of the Quran to different libraries. However, this was withdrawn subsequently.
3. In 2016, Delhi High Court passed a bail order in which the convention of keeping bail order brief was ignored. It pilloried JNU and asked the faculty to pay Rs. 10000 as bail bond.
4. When Swami Chinmayanand was accused of sexual harassment by a law student, the Allahabad High Court in its bail order passed unwarranted comments against the victim as against the 2005 judgment of AmarmaniTripathi. It said that while granting bail, the position, character, behavior, means and standing of the accused has to be considered.
5. In 2014, a Pune techie, Mohsin Sheikh, was allegedly murdered by three men, the accused were granted bail. The justification given was that they were provoked in the name of religion and hence committed murder, where the accused voluntarily went to attend speeches at a Hindu RashtiryaSena event.

When it was denied

1. AnandTeltumbde, a scholar, activist, was denied interim bail by a special court in Mumbai court, even when one sub-inspector at National Intelligence Office was tested positive for COVID-19. He has been accused of conspiracy and violence in BhimaKoregaon.
2. A differently abled Delhi University Professor was denied bail by Bombay High Court. Even his temporary bail was withdrawn, when his co-accused were granted bail.