Supreme Court: facts must guide anticipatory bail in SC/ST cases
The Supreme Court just made it clear: courts need to actually look at the facts before denying anticipatory bail in cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan said Section 18, which usually blocks bail, should not be applied mechanically; it depends on what really happened in each case.
Gujarat HC denies bail despite SC/ST
This came after a Gujarat High Court case from March 2026, where a man was denied bail after being accused by a woman of promising marriage and then backing out while asking her to hide her caste.
The High Court found the SC/ST charges alone weren't enough to block bail but still refused it because of other serious allegations.
Supreme Court: Section 18 not absolute
The Supreme Court clarified that if the basic requirements of Section 18 aren't met, there's no blanket ban on anticipatory bail, even under this Act.
The bar would all depend on the facts of each case.