Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Section 482
Direction for grant of bail to person apprehending arrest
(1) When any person has reason to believe that he may be arrested on an accusation of having committed a non-bailable offence, he may apply to the High Court or the Court of Session for a direction under this section; and that Court may, if it thinks fit, direct that in the event of such arrest, he shall be released on bail.
(2) When the High Court or the Court of Session makes a direction under sub-section (1), it may include such conditions in such directions in the light of the facts of the particular case, as it may think fit, including—
(i) a condition that the person shall make himself available for interrogation by a police officer as and when required;
(ii) a condition that the person shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer;
(iii) a condition that the person shall not leave India without the previous permission of the Court;
(iv) such other condition as may be imposed under sub-section (3) of section 480, as if the bail were granted under that section.
(3) If such person is thereafter arrested without warrant by an officer in charge of a police station on such accusation, and is prepared either at the time of arrest or at any time while in the custody of such officer to give bail, he shall be released on bail; and if a Magistrate taking cognizance of such offence
decides that a warrant should be issued in the first instance against that person, he shall issue a bailable warrant in conformity with the direction of the Court under sub-section (1).
(4) Nothing in this section shall apply to any case involving the arrest of any person on accusation of having committed an offence under section 65 and sub-section (2) of section 70 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Why this exists
This is India's well-known 'anticipatory bail' provision, designed to protect people from the risk of being falsely implicated and detained — especially in personally or politically motivated cases — by allowing them to secure a pre-arrest bail direction from a higher court, while specifically excluding this protection for the most serious sexual offences, in recognition of victim protection concerns.
How courts read it
The Supreme Court's Constitution Bench in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Punjab (1980) held that this power (earlier Section 438 CrPC) should be interpreted liberally to protect personal liberty and should not be hedged with rigid, inflexible conditions by courts. Decades later, another Constitution Bench in Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi) (2020) clarified that anticipatory bail need not be limited to a fixed period and can, depending on the facts of the case, continue until the end of the trial, unless the court itself chooses to limit its duration.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Anticipatory bail is available for every kind of serious crime someone fears being arrested for.
Fact: This section specifically does not apply to arrests for certain serious sexual offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.