Report No. 78

I. Offences under The I.P.C. Punishable with Imprisonment upto 3 Years

4.3. General approach.-

On an examination of the Schedule referred to above, we have come to the conclusion that many of the offences which are non-bailable could be made bailable without causing any serious adverse impact on the public interest. Our general approach in making the recommendation relating to expansion of the categories of bailable offences has been that where the maximum punishment prescribed for the offence does not exceed three years' imprisonment, then, the offence should ordinarily be bailable, unless there are any special features present in the nature of the offence or in its concrete manifestations in actual practice that justify a different approach. On the other hand, if the prescribed maximum punishment exceeds three years' imprisonment, the offence may not be made non-bailable unless there are compelling considerations why it should be made bailable.