High Court's Inherent Power Can Be Invoked To Cancel Bail After Sessions Court's Dismissal Of S.439(2) CrPC Plea : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that a plea for cancellation of bail can be moved before the High Court by invoking its powers under Section 439(2) read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, even if the Sessions Court has already declined a cancellation application under Section 439(2).

The Court rejected the contention that once a Sessions Court declines an application under Section 439(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for cancellation of bail, a second application under the same provision cannot be filed directly before the High Court.

A bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice AG Masih was considering an appeal against a judgment of the Kerala High Court cancelling the bail of the accused.

The appellant argued that once the Sessions Court has rejected the application, the only proper recourse available to the aggrieved party would be to either file a revision petition against the Sessions Judge's order or invoke the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 CrPC.

Disagreeing with this contention, the Court noted that in the present case, the application before the High Court was filed under Section 482 read with Section 439(2) CrPC. Therefore, there was no bar on the High Court from invoking its inherent powers to consider the plea.

"We consider it appropriate to begin our analysis by addressing one of the arguments raised by Mr. Chakraborty. He has challenged the very maintainability of the application filed before the High Court. According to him, once an application under Section 439(2), Cr. PC seeking cancellation of bail has been rejected by the Sessions Judge, a second application under the same provision cannot be filed directly before the High Court. Instead, the proper course would be either 6 to challenge the Sessions Judge's order in a petition for revision, or to invoke the inherent powers of the High Court under Section 482, Cr. PC.

We are unable to agree with this argument. We note that, in the present case, the application before the High Court was filed under “Section 482 r/w 439 (2) of Code of Criminal Procedure. That being the case, nothing prevented the High Court from exercising its inherent powers."

However, on merits, the Court set aside the High Court's order.

Also from the judgment - 'Antecedents Alone Not Ground To Cancel Bail': Supreme Court Restores Bail To Accused In SDPI Leader Shan Murder Case

Case : Abhimanue v. State of Kerala

Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 929

Click here to read the order