Begging Before Someone to Stand as Surety Comes at CostoOf Pride, Accused Shall be Allowed to Furnish Cash Deposits for Getting Bail: HP HC

The Himachal Pradesh High Court observed that the Courts while granting bail should give a choice to the accused to either furnish surety bonds or give a cash deposit. Choosing between sureties and deposits, accused is the Queen and let her be, Justice Anoop Chitkara said while granting bail to an accused. The judge also observed that the lawyers have duty to apprise the accused of the existence of the provision of a cash deposit in the Code of Criminal Procedure (Section 445 CrPC). Abhishek Kumar Singh, accused of committing a white-collar crime, had approached the High Court seeking bail. During the course of hearing, the counsel for the accused in the event this bail petition is allowed, then such release should be on cash security instead of surety bonds because the accused does not know anyone who resides nearby to stand as surety. In the current situation, no one from West Bengal can travel to furnish surety bonds, he contended.