CHASING BAIL

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal finally got out on bail in a defamation case after agreeing to furnish a personal bond of Rs 10,000. A look at how the bond process works in India and other countries.

AAP supporters outside Tihar, seeking Kejriwal’s release.

A PERSONAL BOND is meant as an undertaking that a person who is arrested or summoned as an accused by a court of law will appear before the court for the next date of hearing and will be present for all hearings during the trial. A personal bond is signed by the accused. It also contains a guarantee that if the person does not appear before the court, s/he is liable for monetary penalty (in Kejriwal’s case, Rs 10,000) and criminal proceedings. Kejriwal had refused to sign this undertaking. A SURETY BOND is given by another person, usually someone with influence or authority over the accused, as a guarantee that the accused will be present before the court. If the accused fails to appear, the guarantor forfeits the money.

Personal bond versus bail bond

A bail BOND is a mandatory procedure when a person has already been arrested and wants to be released from jail. It is a guarantee that he will attend the trial. A surety is always imposed with a bail bond. A personal bond is simply a guarantee given by the accused himself and is imposed even on someone who is merely summoned to court in a bailable offence, like Kejriwal was.
2.55 lakh
is the number of undertrials in India’s jails. That’s 66.17 per cent of the total 3,85,135 inmates. Ordinarily, at least some of these undertrials should have been able to get out on bail but they are usually too poor to afford the surety amount that is imposed with the bail.
Bond money

The amount depends on the discretion of the judge who might weigh in the severity of the offence, the profile of the accused and the person acting as surety. For petty offences or for people with limited means, courts are known to ask for surety bonds of Rs 500 or simply allow an accused to file a personal bond. It most cases, the amount is between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000.

In the 2G spectrum scam case, the accused were asked to submit personal bonds of Rs 20 lakh on applications for permission to go abroad during the trial.

In January 2012, the Delhi High Court granted bail to CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and former director general of the Organising Committee V K Verma after asking them to furnish a bail bond of Rs 5 lakh each and two sureties of the same amount.

US
Defendants who can’t afford to pay bail often turn to bail bonding companies, which charge a non-refundable fee in exchange for the company’s promise to pay the bond amount to the court should the defendant fail to appear.

In the 2012 George Zimmerman case, where the member of a neighbourhood watch shot dead 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman’s wife was arrested after she lied to the court that she had no money to bail her husband out.
In 2011, former IMF MD Dominique Strauss-Kahn, arrested on sexual assault charges, posted $1 million in bail. Finally, the charges were dropped.

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In 2008, Bernie Madoff, responsible for the largest instance of financial fraud in US history, was arrested and the bail set at $10 million. With Madoff unable to meet the conditions of the bond, the terms were modified to allow him a sort of house arrest.

Australia

To be a surety, you must be at least 18 years of age and have proof of identification. You must also own suitable assets to become a surety, such as property and vehicles.

Canada

The bail bondsman practice used in the US is illegal here. Agreeing to pay a defendant’s bond in exchange for money is a crime akin to witness tampering or bribing.

Aneesha Mathur &
Aleesha Matharu

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