Section 478 of BNSS, 2023 (THE BHARATIYA NAGARIK SURAKSHA SANHITA, 2023)
478. (1) When any person other than a person accused of a non-bailable offence is arrested or detained without warrant by an officer in charge of a police station, or appears or is brought before a Court, and is prepared at any time while in the custody of such officer
or at any stage of the proceeding before such Court to give bail, such person shall be
released on bail:
Provided that such officer or Court, if he or it thinks fit, may, and shall, if such person
is indigent and is unable to furnish surety, instead of taking bail bond from such person,
discharge him on his executing a bond for his appearance as hereinafter provided.
Explanation.—Where a person is unable to give bail bond within a week of the date
of his arrest, it shall be a sufficient ground for the officer or the Court to presume that he is
an indigent person for the purposes of this proviso:
Provided further that nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the provisions
of sub-section (3) of section 135 or section 492.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (1), where a person has failed to comply
with the conditions of the bond or bail bond as regards the time and place of attendance, the
Court may refuse to release him on bail, when on a subsequent occasion in the same case he
appears before the Court or is brought in custody and any such refusal shall be without
prejudice to the powers of the Court to call upon any person bound by such bond or bail
bond to pay the penalty thereof under section 491.
Advocate Anoop Verma, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh
+91-9463742964
advanoopverma@gmail.com