“An overview on the paradigm shift in Bail Proceedings under BNSS,2023 for time bound delivery of Criminal Justice.”

ABSTRACT Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for the first time, under the Criminal Law, the term bail has been defined under Section 2 clause (b) as ‘release of a person accused of or suspected of commission of an offence from the custody of law upon certain conditions imposed by an officer or Court on execution by such person of a bond or a bail bond’. Indian Criminal jurisprudence follows the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” further every person has the fundamental right to life and personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 of Indian Constitution, which according to Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer is “the procedural magna carta protective of life and liberty”, but a person’s liberty is jeopardized when he/she is accused and arrested for allegedly committing an offence bailable or non-bailable. In such cases he has the option of applying for bail which in case of bailable offence is the matter of his right, while in non-bailable case it is the discretion of the Court to grant or refuse the bail, which is in consonance with Article 21 as it strikes harmonious balance among the concept of innocent until proven guilty, an individual’s personal liberty and the justice & safety of society at large. The present paper deals with paradigm shift of bail proceedings under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for time bound delivery of Criminal Justice in India, further making an in-depth study on the changes, taking the help of literature available, various committee reports, and ruling of various courts and guidelines of Supreme Court.