#bail bonds forfeiture

The Punjab & Haryana High Court ruled that medical absence supported by hospital records cannot trigger automatic bail bond forfeiture under Section 528 BNSS without affording the accused a hearing. This reinforces natural justice in criminal procedure and protects accused persons from punitive measures based on unverified claims of non-appearance.

The Punjab & Haryana High Court ruled that bail cannot be cancelled and bonds forfeited merely because an accused failed to appear due to bona fide, uncontrollable circumstances like travel obligations and bar association strikes. This reinforces that procedural fairness under Article 21 demands contextual assessment, not mechanical punishment, in criminal proceedings - protecting accused persons from punitive overreach when absence is neither intentional nor dilatory.