Supreme Court Sets Aside Jharkhand HC Order Granting Bail On Condition Man Resume Conjugal Life With Wife

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Jharkhand High Court which granted anticipatory bail to a man on a condition that he would resume conjugal life with his wife and maintain her with dignity and honour.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih noted that the man was an accused in a case registered under various sections of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code and under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

"While considering the application for pre-arrest bail of the appellant, the court ought to have assessed whether the discretionary relief sought by the appellant for pre-arrest bail deserved to be granted within the settled parameters… but a condition such as the one impugned before us ought not to have been imposed in view of several decisions of this court," the bench said in its July 29 order.

It said the high court should have considered the prayer for pre-arrest bail entirely on its own merit instead of imposing a condition, which is not traceable to section 438(2) of the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure.

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The apex court passed the order on a plea challenging a February 2025 order of the high court which had granted the prayer for pre-arrest bail on condition that the man resumes conjugal life with his wife and maintains her with dignity and honour as his lawful wife.

During the hearing before the top court, the counsel appearing for the woman said the man, together with her, had jointly submitted before the high court that he was willing to resume his conjugal life.

The lawyer contended that the man cannot now turn around and take a different stand.

The bench said the counsel was partly right in the sense that the man had indeed agreed to resume conjugal life.

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"However, the respondent no.2 (woman) insisted for imposition of a further condition to which we do not find the appellant (man) to have agreed. The spouses seemingly, at one point of time, had drifted apart and resided separately for some time. Imposing a condition that the appellant would maintain the respondent no.2 with dignity and honour is beset with risk in that it can generate further litigation," the bench said.

It said an application for cancellation of bail on the ground that such condition has not been complied with, if filed later, is bound to meet opposition from the man and could place the high court in further difficulty.

"The impugned judgment and order, accordingly, stands set aside. The appeal is allowed," the bench said.

It restored the anticipatory bail application on the file of the high court and asked it to decide it afresh on its own merits, as early as possible.

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The bench said till such time the matter is decided finally by the high court, the interim protection granted to the man by the top court earlier would continue.

In its interim direction passed earlier, the top court had said the man be not arrested in connection with the case subject to his joining investigation as and when called upon to do so by the investigating officer.

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