2. Bail means the release of a person from
custody or prison upon security given for his
appearance in Court on an appointed date or
upon an undertaking given by sureties to
produce him in Court on such a date.
3. a personal bond with security;
a personal bond without security;
a bond with surety, but without security;
a bond with surety or sureties and with
security
4. A person accused of a bailable offence e.g.
cheating forgery or defamation is entitled
by law to appear or be brought to court and
released on bail when he is arrested or
detained without a warrant by a police
officer.
5. In non-bailable cases, for example, when a person is accused of
infanticide, theft or rape, bail is not completely prohibited but rather, is
available at the discretion of the Court or police officer in charge of a
police district. There is, however, an important limitation on this
discretionary power. Bail must be refused if there are reasonable grounds
for believing that the accused has been guilty of an offence punishable by
death or life imprisonment, but exception may be made for any person
under 16 years of age or any woman or any sick or infirmed person
accused of such an offence.
6. Conditions may be imposed by the Court in
granting bail (only in respect of a non-bailable
offence) such as requiring the accused to
surrender his passport. Failure to comply with any
required condition may result in the accused being
kept in remand until trial.
7. The discretion of the court on whether to grant/refuse bail hinges primarily on the question of
the likelihood of the accused absconding or the likelihood of repetition of the offence with which
he is charged while on bail. Factors concerning the accused normally taken into account by the
Court include:
(a) The nature of the offence charged
(b) The apparent probability of conviction
(c) The likely sentence
(d) His family ties and relationship within the community in which he lives.
(e) His reputation, employment status and monetary conditions
(f) His prior criminal record
The amount of bond imposed should be sufficient to secure the attendance of the person
arrested and must not be excessive.
8. An application for bail will be granted if
supported by clear evidence that the
accused is interfering with the course of
justice by tempering witnesses - vague
allegations to that effect are insufficient.