What it involves
Under Section 482 BNSS, the High Court or the Court of Session may direct that, if the applicant is arrested, he shall be released on bail. The two courts have concurrent jurisdiction. Ordinarily the Sessions Court is approached first. In Ankit Bharti v. State of U.P., a five-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court held that the High Court may be approached directly in special circumstances, and left it to the judge hearing the application to decide whether they exist. The Supreme Court, in Mohammed Rasal C. v. State of Kerala, has referred the question of direct applications to a three-judge bench, whose judgment is awaited.
The guiding factors that Section 438 CrPC listed have been omitted from Section 482, and in Uttar Pradesh the earlier State bar on anticipatory bail in certain offences has been held not to survive the new law. A statutory bar remains for offences under Sections 65 and 70(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Matters
- Applications before the High Court
- Interim protection until the final hearing
- Protection after summons or the filing of a charge-sheet
- Anticipatory bail in GST and Customs matters
- Modification of conditions imposed
How a matter proceeds
General information on the law as it stands on 15 November 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an advocate–client relationship.