ANKIT MISHRA
Vs.
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND ANOTHER
( Before : Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra, JJ. )
Criminal Appeal No(s). ....of 2025 (Arising out of SLP(Crl.) No(s). 14566 of 2024)
Decided on : 17-04-2025
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Section 438 — Anticipatory Bail — Habitual Offender/Criminal Antecedents — Consideration of Nature of Current Offence — While the criminal antecedents and alleged status of an accused as a habitual offender are extremely relevant factors that ordinarily weigh against the grant of anticipatory bail, the High Court’s discretion in granting such bail may not warrant interference if (i) the High Court has demonstrably considered the criminal history, and (ii) the specific offences alleged in the present FIR are not heinous in nature — The consideration might differ if the present allegation involved a heinous offence. (Distinguished from principles in Neeru Yadav v. State of U.P., (2014) 16 SCC 508)
