Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 483
Special powers of High Court or Court of Session regarding bail
(1) A High Court or Court of Session may direct,—
(a) that any person accused of an offence and in custody be released on bail, and if the offence is of the nature specified in sub-section (3) of section 480, may impose any condition which it considers necessary for the purposes mentioned in that sub-section;
(b) that any condition imposed by a Magistrate when releasing any person on bail be set aside or modified: Provided that the High Court or the Court of Session shall, before granting bail to a person who is accused of an offence which is triable exclusively by the Court of Session or which, though not so triable, is punishable with imprisonment for life, give notice of the application for bail to the Public Prosecutor unless it is, for reasons to be recorded in writing, of opinion that it is not practicable to give such notice: Provided further that the High Court or the Court of Session shall, before granting bail to a person who is accused of an offence triable under section 65 or sub-section (2) of section 70 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, give notice of the application for bail to the Public Prosecutor within a period of fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice of such application.
(2) The presence of the informant or any person authorised by him shall be obligatory at the time of hearing of the application for bail to the person under section 65 or sub-section (2) of section 70 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
(3) A High Court or Court of Session may direct that any person who has been released on bail under this Chapter be arrested and commit him to custody.
Why this exists
These higher courts are given wider bail powers than magistrates, reflecting their seniority and role overseeing serious cases, balanced against procedural safeguards — like mandatory Prosecutor notice and the informant's presence — intended to ensure victims and the state's perspective are genuinely heard before bail is granted in the gravest categories of cases.
How courts read it
The Supreme Court has held — for example in Sanjay Chandra v. CBI (2011) and P. Chidambaram v. Directorate of Enforcement (2019) — that when exercising this wide bail power, courts must balance the seriousness of the offence and the risk of the accused influencing the trial against the fundamental importance of personal liberty, and that bail should never be treated as a form of pre-trial punishment.