Babu Singh and Others v. The State of Uttar Pradesh​ 1978 AIR 527

Case name: Babu Singh and Others v. The State of Uttar Pradesh​

Citation: 1978 AIR 527; 1978 SCR (2) 777; 1978 SCC (1) 579​

Date of judgment: 31 January 1978​

Bench / Judges: V. R. Krishna Iyer, J. (speaking for the Court) with D. A. Desai, J. on the Bench​

Facts 

The petitioners were charged with murder under section 302 IPC and were acquitted by the Sessions Judge on 4 November 1972. The State appealed; after about five years, on 20 May 1977, the High Court reversed the acquittal, convicted all petitioners and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The petitioners filed a statutory appeal to the Supreme Court and sought bail pending appeal. An earlier bail application had been rejected on 7 September 1977, but they moved a second application pointing to long delay, prior acquittal, their conduct while on bail, family circumstances, and time already spent in custody.​

Judgment and holding

The Court held that rejection of an earlier bail application does not bar a subsequent application if there are new materials or developments, and bail can be reconsidered at a later stage. Emphasising that personal liberty under Article 21 is a fundamental value and that bail refusal cannot be used punitively, the Court granted bail subject to strict conditions, including a bond, surety, exclusion from the concerned village, and weekly reporting to the local police station.​

Observations / Obiter dicta

• The Court elaborated a constitutional, rights‑oriented “jurisprudence of bail,” stressing that deprivation of liberty is justified only on reasonable grounds tied to community safety and securing the accused’s presence, not as anticipatory punishment.​
• It identified key bail factors: nature of charge and evidence, severity of possible sentence, likelihood of absconding, risk of tampering with evidence or threatening witnesses, antecedents, period already spent in custody, delay in hearing appeals, and the harsh conditions of prisons.​
• The Court endorsed the view that where appeals cannot be disposed of reasonably quickly, persons sentenced to life imprisonment and granted special leave should ordinarily be released on bail unless there are cogent reasons to refuse.