Supreme Court: Fact That Co-Accused Not Surrendered Cannot Be The Ground To Deny Bail

The Supreme Court in the case Sebil Elanjimpally vs The State of Odisha observed that an accused in the case cannot be denied bail on the sole ground that the co-accused has not surrendered.
In the present case, the bail application was moved by an accused who was under custody for offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
The court in the case noted that the sole reason which weighed with the High Court for denying the bail was that that the co-accused has not surrendered, who was released on bail.
The bench comprising of Justice KM Joseph and Justice Arvind Kumar in the case observed and has stated that the said court is of the view that the co-accused who was released on bail has not surrendered, the same cannot be a germane factor in order to decline the bail to the co-accused, namely, who being the appellant.
Further, the court in the case observed and has noted that the appellant had been under custody for two years and 11 months. Therefore, it has also been directed by the bench of High Court for reconsidering the bail application, while taking note of the fact that the charges which have been framed and 19 prosecution witnesses are being proposed to be examined.