NBWs can’t be issued in routine manner, says Supreme Court

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, May 2

Cautioning against routine issuance of non-bailable warrants (NBWs), the Supreme Court has said that NBWs should not be issued unless the accused is charged with a heinous crime, and is likely to evade the process of law or destroy evidence.

Can’t curtail liberty

The liberty of an individual cannot be curtailed unless necessitated by the larger interest of the public and the state. Bench

“It is a settled position of law that non-bailable warrants cannot be issued in a routine manner and that the liberty of an individual cannot be curtailed unless necessitated by the larger interest of the public and the state,” a Bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna said in its May 1 judgment.

The Bench, which also included Justice SVN Bhatti, allowed appeals filed by one Sharif Ahmed and Adil against an Allahabad High Court verdict refusing to quash the criminal proceedings against them arising out of a property dispute.

It also granted anticipatory bail to accused Imran and Kamaluddin. Partly allowing the appeal of accused Manager Singh, the top court quashed the summoning order and an NBW against him and ordered his release on bail.

“While there are no comprehensive set of guidelines for issuing non-bailable warrants, this court has observed on several occasions that NBWs should not be issued, unless the accused is charged with a heinous crime, and is likely to evade the process of law or tamper/destroy evidence,” the Bench said. “Further, the observation that there is no provision for granting exemption from personal appearance prior to obtaining bail, is not correct,” the Bench said.