Supreme Court Cancels Interim Bail Granted on Medical Grounds to Rape and Abetment Accused, Orders Surrender Within a Week.


15 October 2025 Criminal Appeals & Suspension of Sentence >> Criminal Law   |   Rape >> Criminal Law  

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India has quashed an order of the Delhi High Court that had allowed interim bail on medical grounds to an accused charged with rape and abetment of suicide. The Court ruled that the reasons given for the medical conditions were too vague to warrant temporary release, particularly in view of the conduct of the accused and the seriousness of the charges.

The order, passed on October 15, 2025, by a two-judge bench of Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi, was in an appeal moved by the complainant against the order of August 19, 2025, of the High Court. The accused had previously been granted interim bail for 90 days by the High Court on grounds of several health issues, such as asthma, back pain, urinary problems, and mild gastrointestinal ailments.


 

 

The accused has been put on trial in FIR No. 476 of 2019 at Tilak Nagar Police Station, Delhi, under Sections 376 and 306 of the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution history showed that he had avoided investigation for some time, necessitating the issuance of non-bailable warrants and Section 82 proceedings of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

At the time of hearing, the Supreme Court observed that several medical reports had been generated from the Central Jail Hospital, Rohini, but none indicated any life-threatening ailment or instant medical emergency which could not be treated in custody. The bench was especially concerned with photographs and documents obtained from the accused's mobile phone, featuring him firing guns, firing in the air on Independence Day, and reportedly taking narcotics.

"These materials indicate a pattern of conduct evincing disrespect for law and public safety," the Court noted, commenting that such a person indicted for atrocious crimes should never have been given provisional liberty due to common illnesses.".

The Court also noted that even when advised hospitalization on at least two occasions—in late September and early October 2025—the accused refused to be hospitalized, discrediting his own assertion of serious sickness. It ruled that the High Court's reliance on medical reasons was misplaced and not justified by evidence of any serious or exceptional condition.

Overlooking the bail order, the Supreme Court asked the accused to report within seven days. In case he does not do so, the trial court and police authorities were ordered to arrest him at once. The bench, however, made it clear that their observations were limited to judging the suitability of interim bail and should not affect the trial court or High Court while deciding the case on merits.

This ruling is a demonstration of the Court's increasing doubts about abuse of medical grounds for temporary release, particularly in serious sexual offence cases. By insisting on surrender within a specific period, the bench upheld the principle that relief on health should be kept for valid, compelling reasons supported by credible medical reports.


Section 306., Indian Penal Code - 1860  

Section 376., Indian Penal Code - 1860  

Indian Penal Code, 1860  

Section 82., Code of Criminal Procedure - 1973  

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973