Contrary to popular misconception – that only a Court can grant bail in a non-bailable offence – the reality is that : The Police can also grant bail in non-bailable offences.
A perusal of Section 437, Sub-sections (2) and (4), CrPC reveals that the architects of CrPC, in fact, vested a police officer with the power to grant bail even in a non-bailable offence.
This is clear from the phraseology employed in these sub-sections : “it appears to such officer” “or “at the discretion of such officer” [Section 437(2) CrPC] and “An officer or a court releasing a person on bail…” [Section 437(4) CrPC].
Form No.45 attached to Second Schedule of CrPC further reinforces this.
Sources/Further reading:
- An Article titled ‘Role of Police and the Law of Bail in Common Law Jurisdictions’ by Anurag Deep (Associate Professor, ILI, New Delhi) featured in ‘Taking bail Seriously’ published by LexisNexis.
- Select Committee’s observations – discussed in Sohoni’s commentaries on The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1931 and other commentators on the subject.
- Section 437 of the CrPC
- Form No. 45 appended to Second Schedule.
PS : This post does not examine or opine on the propriety/desirability of giving such a power to the police and its consequences/practical implications; We leave that for another post – another day.
Bharat Chugh 
2 responses to “Law in 100 Words | Part 4 | Whether a Police Officer can grant bail in a Non-Bailable case?”
Respected Sir,
“Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime”.SIR,yr 💯 Words know the law Series, teaches we layman in simple terms,and,this will help Advocates,and ,even reduce the burden of cases in Hon.courts,as laymen will resist filing untenable litigation.
Kind Regards/SR
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It is quite fascinating how unique concepts you are unveiling through your posts. I knew it that Police can grant default bail or even in bailable offences. But this was new for me to learn that it is also possible in Non-bailable Offences. This series is really helping in enriching our knowledge base. Thank you sir and keep sharing the same.
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