Prantik Kumar vs State of Jharkhand - Bail - Deposit Of Amount
Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 438,439 - Grant of regular bail or the anticipatory bail should not be subject to deposit of any amount - if a case for grant of bail or anticipatory bail is made out, then the Court should proceed to pass an appropriate order and if not made out, the Court may decline, however, Court should not pass a conditional order of deposit of a particular amount and then exercise its discretion. (Para 8-9)
Case Info
Case Information
Case name: Prantik Kumar & Anr. v. State of Jharkhand & Anr.Neutral citation: Not mentioned in the order (only diary number given: SLP (Crl.) Diary No. 4297/2026).
Court: Supreme Court of IndiaCoram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Hon’ble Mr. Justice K.V. ViswanathanJudgment/order date: 03 February 2026
Caselaws and Citations Referred
- Gajanan Dattatray Gore v. State of Maharashtra & Another, (2025) SCC Online 1571
Statutes / Laws Referred
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections:
- Section 406
- Section 420
- Section 504
- Section 506
- Section 120B
- Section 34
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (implicitly, in context of anticipatory bail and SLP, though not expressly cited by section).
Brief Summary (Three Sentences)
The petitioners, a father and son, were denied anticipatory bail by the Jharkhand High Court in an FIR alleging cheating and related offences arising out of a business transaction in which the complainant claims about Rs. 9 lakh remains unpaid for supply of craft paper. The Supreme Court held that the High Court’s orders were improper because they effectively made anticipatory bail conditional on depositing the alleged due amount, contrary to the Court’s earlier decision in Gajanan Dattatray Gore v. State of Maharashtra. The Court therefore directed that, in the event of arrest in the concerned FIR, the petitioners shall be released on bail on terms set by the Investigating Officer and further directed that a copy of this order be placed before the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.