[REPORTABLE] IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

    CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CRL) NO. 5568 OF 2011

Bhaskar Mishra               ….Petitioner

Versus

State of Madhya Pradesh                              …..Respondent

O R D E R 1. This Special Leave Petition is an example of the gross misuse of the  

process of the Court.  The facts are as under:

2. A case under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code was registered  

against  the  petitioner  in  Police  Station  MIG,  Indore,  Madhya  Pradesh.  

Apprehending his arrest, he filed an application for anticipatory bail under  

Section 438 of the Cr.P.C. on the 3rd of September 2010 before the Court  

of  Sessions  which  was  dismissed  on  the  7th September  2010.   The  

petitioner thereupon filed a similar application before the Madhya Pradesh  

High Court and on the 24th September 2010   the High Court granted  

anticipatory  bail  to  the  petitioner  for  a  period  of  four  weeks  and  also  

directed him to apply for regular bail in the meanwhile.  The petitioner  

accordingly filed an application dated 5th of October 2010 in the Court of  

Sessions, Indore under Section 439 of the Cr.P.C. for the grant of regular  

bail.  The matter was listed on seven different dates between the 5th of  

October 2010 and the 1st of November 2010 and except for one date (i.e.  

the 20th October 2010) the petitioner remained absent during the hearing

of  the  bail  application  pleading  sickness.   The  Sessions  Judge  finally  

dismissed the application on the 1st of November 2010.  The petitioner  

again moved the High Court on the 26th October 2010 praying that the  

period of four weeks granted by the High Court for moving an application  

for regular bail  be extended.  The High Court vide its order dated 26th  

October  2010  extended  the  time  up  till  12th November  2010.   The  

petitioner instead of surrendering before the Sessions Court filed another  

application dated 8th November 2010 in the High Court under Section 438  

read with Sections 439 and 482 of the Cr.P.C. for the grant of regular bail.  

This application was dismissed by the High Court on the 12th of November  

2010, by observing that an application under Section 439 would lie only if  

an  accused  was  in  custody.   Still  undeterred,  the  petitioner  filed  yet  

another application for further extending the period of four weeks which  

too  was  dismissed  on  the  16th of  December  2010.   The  petitioner  

thereupon filed  SLP (CRL)  No.  849-850  of  2011  impugning  the  orders  

dated 12th November, 2010 and 16th December, 2010 which was dismissed  

by this Court on the 1st of February 2011.  After the dismissal of the SLP,  

the  petitioner  filed  yet  another  application  under  Section  438  of  the  

Criminal  Procedure  Code  before  the  High  Court  on  the  plea  that  the  

judgment of this Court in Siddharam Satlingapppa Mhetre Versus State of  

Maharashtra and Others [2011 (1) SCC 694] had not earlier been brought  

to the notice of the High Court or the Supreme Court.  This application too  

has  been  dismissed  by  the  impugned  order  dated  29th April,  2011

observing that the cited judgment was not applicable to the facts of the  

case as four earlier applications for anticipatory bail had been rejected.  

This order has now been impugned before us.  

3. We  have  heard  the  learned  counsel  for  the  petitioner  and  gone  

through the record.  The facts reproduced above show that the petitioner  

has been absconding and though he has been shown great indulgence by  

the Sessions as well as the High Court on several occasions, the directions  

issued by the courts have been relentlessly flouted.  We are, therefore, of  

the  opinion  that  the  repeated  applications  are  a  gross  misuse  of  the  

process  of  the  court  and  the  matter  has  to  be  dealt  with  in  that  

background.  We accordingly dismiss the Special Leave Petition and direct  

that  no  further  application  for  bail  anticipatory  or  otherwise  will  be  

entertained by any Court until and unless the petitioner deposits a sum of  

Rupees One Lac before the Court of Sessions at Indore as a pre condition  

for the consideration of any bail application that he may choose to file.  A  

copy of this order be sent to the Registrar General of the Madhya Pradesh  

High Court as also to the Sessions Judge who is seized of the matter.

4. The Special Leave Petition is dismissed accordingly.

………………………….J. (HARJIT SINGH BEDI)

………………………….J.  (GYAN SUDHA MISRA)   

DATED: 8th AUGUST 2011 NEW DELHI.