NO TIME LIMIT COULD BE FIXED WHILE GRANTING ANTICIPATORY BAIL. Sushila Aggarwal & Ors. v. State (NCT of Delhi) & Anr. This case posed a typical question in front of the judiciary about whether anticipatory bail granted under section 438 of Criminal Procedure Code should be limited to a fixed period of time or not and that whether such anticipatory bail is trimmed when the court summons the accused. The 5-judge bench unanimously agreed that anticipatory bail shall not be limited to a fixed period and in certain peculiar cases, can be extended till the end of the trial upon the order of the hon’ble court. Justice Shah was of the opinion that the normal rule should be not to limit the operation of the order in relation to a period of time. He, however, added, “the conditions can be imposed by the concerned court while granting pre-arrest bail order including limiting the operation of the order in relation to a period of time if the circumstances so warrant, more particularly the stage at which the “anticipatory bail” application is moved, namely, whether the same is at the stage before the FIR is filed or at the stage when the FIR is filed and the investigation is in progress or at the stage when the investigation is complete and the charge sheet is filed. The court further overruled the following judgments: Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre v. State of Maharashtra & Ors, Salauddin Abdulsamad Shaikh v. State of Maharashtra and other subsequent decisions. Reddy & Reddy Law Firm has a forte in handling Criminal matters. They have an experienced team of lawyers ready to assist in all your disputes.