NEW DELHI: Deprecating the practice of trial courts giving regular Bail to accused on the basis of higher court’s order to grant interim anticipatory bail , the Supreme Court has restrained subordinate courts from passing such order, saying that it is an abuse of process of law.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha said that trial court’s order granting bail to accused would virtually make the higher court’s order infructuous if it finally decided to withdraw the interim protection given to accused by dismissing plea for anticipatory bail.

“Once a Regular Bail is granted by a subordinate court on the strength of the interim/pre-arrest bail granted by the superior court, even if the superior court is to dismiss the plea of anticipatory bail upon fuller consideration of the matter, the regular bail granted by the subordinate court would continue to hold the field, rendering the ultimate rejection of the pre-arrest bail by the superior court meaningless,” the court said.

The bench passed the direction after noting that it had become a regular practice for accused to surrender before trial court and seek regular bail immediately after interim pre-arrest bail was granted by higher forums.

“We have noticed several such cases, time has come to put the learned subordinate courts in the country to notice that such a practice must be discontinued and consideration of regular bail application upon surrender during the pendency of the application for pre-arrest bail before a superior court must be discouraged,” it said.

“We, therefore, direct that a copy of this order be forwarded to the director of all Judicial Academies in the country to be brought to the notice of all judicial officers exercising criminal jurisdiction in their respective states,” the court said.

The Court passed the order after it was brought to its notice that a trial court in Jharkhand granted regular bail to an accused after it granted her interim protection from being arrested in a criminal case. The court had sought explanation from the judicial officer who passed the order.

The court, however, let off the trial judge saying that it was a “bonafide mistake” on his part. It quashed the bail granted to the accused and directed her to surrender before the court.

“When this court or a high court or even a sessions judge grants interim anticipatory bail and the matter is pending before that court, there can be no occasion for the accused to appear and seek regular bail…Surrender and a bail application in such circumstances is nothing but an abuse of the process of law by the accused concerned,” it said.