TOI: Drunk driving is a bailable offence in law: September 23, 2008

   Striking down a lower court’s order, the HC said that courts can only impose conditions on the bail amount or surety in such cases. In cases of rash and negligent driving or drunk driving, police usually release a person on a bail of Rs 2,000.

Bailable offences run the gamut of offences ranging from rash and negligent driving to causing death by negligence, cheating and rioting.

  “For offences like rash and drunk driving or other less serious offences, the law is clear that a person arrested for bailable offences has to be released on bail,’’ said senior criminal lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani.

   Reiterating the position of law, Justice Abhay Oka said, “In a case where a person is accused of commission of a bailable offence, the officer who has detained him or arrested him and the court before which he is produced has no choice but to offer bail to the accused provided the said person is ready to pay the bail amount.’’

PAYING    THE PRICE

Mumbai has 60 lakh licensed drivers. Of these, 22,000 have been booked for drunken driving in the past one-and-a-half years

   Number of motorists who were convicted | 8,065

   Number of motorists whose licences were suspended | 8,108

ACTION THAT DRUNK DRIVERS FACE

First-time offender |

Fine of up to Rs 2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 6 months and/or suspension of licence for up to 6 months

Second-or third-time offender |

Fine of up to Rs 3,000 and/or jail of up to 2 years and/or permanent cancellation of licence

Illegal duplicate licence |

If the driver whose original licence has been suspended procures a duplicate licence, the traffic police can file a criminal case of
cheating and forgery against him/her

‘Cops keep offenders in dark on bail rights’

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has ruled that drunken driving is a bailable offence. Under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), bailable offences are crimes that are not serious and are usually cases where even if a person is convicted, the punishment prescribed is less than three years’ imprisonment.

   Bailable offences include crimes such as rioting, bribery, fabricating evidence, food adulteration, rash and negligent driving, causing public nuisance, sale of obscene books, causing death by a rash and negligent act, voluntarily causing hurt, extortion, cheating and house trespass.

   As per the law, a person arrested under a bailable offence can convey to the police officer his readiness to apply for bail. In such an event, the police can set an amount and release the person on bail. If, however, the accused fails to come up with the amount, he will be put in the lock-up and produced in court the next day, where he can seek bail as a matter of right. “The law makes it mandatory for the police to inform the accused that it is a bailable offence and s/he can avail of bail,’’ said advocate Uday Warunjikar. However, lawyers said that the police often failed to inform a person caught for a bailable offence of his right to immediate bail and kept him in custody overnight. “The police officer or the court, as the case may be, has to take a bond for such sum of money (that they) think sufficient. One or more sureties can also be taken. The bond to be taken in such cases is for ensuring attendance of the accused before the court and/or before the police,’’ emphasised the court. 

 The case before the high court was not related to drunk driving, but of duty evasion to the tune of Rs 65 crore where the offence was termed bailable. Sultan Kamruddin Dharani moved the high court after the magistrate’s court, while granting him bail, imposed a condition that required him to deposit his passport and also seek the court’s permission before travelling abroad.

   Advocate Warunjikar who represented Dharani argued that the magistrate’s order imposing conditions for a bailable offence was not proper. This argument was accepted by the court which held, “The position of the law is that a person who is alleged to have committed a bailable offence has an unfettered and absolute right to be enlarged on bail and the court or the police officer concerned, as the case may be, has no discretion to grant or refuse bail.’’ The HC further added that the magistrate could impose conditions only with regard to the bail amount or surety. It struck down the conditions imposed by the magistrate on Dharani.

   Assistant public prosecutor P Kantharia had contended that there was a possibility that if Dharani was allowed to travel abroad he may not remain present for court hearings. The court did not agree.

LEGAL ANGLE

Bailable crimes under the IPC

Rioting

Bribery

Fabricating evidence

Food adulteration

Rash and negligent driving

Public nuisance

Sale of obscene books

Causing death by a rash, negligent act

Voluntarily causing hurt

Simple extortion

Cheating

House trespass

Bailable offence:

A less serious offence where the police itself can release a person on bail and need not produce the offender in court. Bail is a matter of right.

DCP Harish Baijal:

“We release drunk drivers on bail if they pay the fine. If they don’t, they end up spending the night at the police station and are produced in court the next day.’’

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