Himachal High Court dismisses non-bailable warrants of lower court, restores bail; know the full case

August 30, 2025

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has quashed the non-bailable warrant orders of 6 August and 5 November 2024 issued by the lower court. The court restored the canceled bail of the petitioner with immediate effect and also ordered to revival of his bail bonds.

The court of Justice Vijendra Singh directed that if the petitioner’s surety no longer wants to take his bail, then the petitioner will have to appear in the lower court and submit new bail bonds within 7 days. After hearing both parties, the court found that the order of the lower court is against the basic principles of law.

The court said, the courts should respect the right to freedom of individuals and follow due process before issuing a warrant. Before issuing a non-bailable warrant, the magistrate should ensure that the appearance of accused cannot be ensured by a bailable warrant. Bailable warrants should not be issued arbitrarily. He stressed that before issuing a warrant, the courts should consider factors such as the seriousness of the case, the past conduct of the accused and the possibility of his absconding.

An FIR was registered against the petitioner on 31 March 2022 under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (A) for abetment to suicide. Later, he got bail from the High Court on 15 June 2022. After the investigation of the case was completed, the police filed a charge sheet in the lower court.

During the hearing of the case on 6 August 2024, the petitioner’s court had directed his lawyer to apply for not appearing. But the lawyer neither appeared nor applied. Due to this, the lower court (Judicial Magistrate Shimla) canceled the personal and bail bonds of the petitioner and directly issued non-bailable warrants against him.