The Supreme Court of India, in a significant ruling, has held that the filing of a fresh application for bail or suspension of sentence is a matter of right, even after an earlier application has been rejected. A bench comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Prasanna B. Varale set aside a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had dismissed a bail application solely because the Supreme Court had not granted specific liberty to file a new one while dismissing a previous petition. The Court remanded the matter to the High Court for a fresh decision on merits.
Background of the Case
The appellant, Kalu @ Chetan, filed an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging an order dated January 10, 2025, passed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore. The High Court had dismissed the appellant’s application for suspension of sentence and bail (I.A. No. 20137/2024 in Criminal Appeal No.1572/2017). The sole ground for the High Court’s dismissal was its interpretation of a prior Supreme Court order. The High Court noted that the Supreme Court, while dismissing the appellant’s earlier Special Leave Petition (SLP(Crl.) (D) No.20153/2023), had not granted any liberty to the appellant to file a fresh application for bail or suspension of sentence.
Supreme Court’s Analysis and Ruling
The Supreme Court, after hearing counsel for both parties, disagreed with the reasoning of the High Court. The bench of Justice Mithal and Justice Varale clarified the legal position on filing successive bail applications.
The Court explicitly stated, “There is no prohibition in filing a fresh bail/suspension application after the earlier was rejected or cancelled, if granted.” It further clarified that its own order dismissing the appellant’s earlier special leave petition did not curtail the appellant’s right to seek bail again under changed circumstances. The judgment noted, “This Court while dismissing the earlier special leave petition of the appellant bearing SLP(Crl.) (D) No.20153/2023 has not taken away the right of the appellant to apply for bail/suspension afresh, if the circumstances permit.”
In a key observation, the Supreme Court declared that filing a subsequent application is a fundamental right of a litigant. The Court held, “Filing of a fresh bail/suspension application, once an earlier application has been rejected or if granted and thereafter cancelled is a matter of right and solely on the ground that the Apex Court had not permitted filing of the fresh bail/suspension application, the High Court was not justified in dismissing the bail/suspension application.”
Decision
Based on this reasoning, the Supreme Court set aside the impugned High Court order of January 10, 2025. The matter was remanded to the High Court for a fresh decision based on the merits of the case.
The Court directed that the appellant’s application, I.A. No. 20137/2024 in Criminal Appeal No.1572/2017, be restored to its original file and number. The Supreme Court ordered the restored application to be listed before the appropriate roster Bench of the High Court on July 25, 2025, and obligated the parties’ representatives to appear on that date to facilitate the scheduling of a hearing. The appeal was disposed of accordingly.
