Alimony can't be a condition for bail in marital disputes: SC

The Supreme Court has held that courts cannot impose payment of alimony as a condition for granting bail in matrimonial disputes, in a significant ruling reinforcing the legal framework of bail jurisprudence.

- Utkarsh Anand

Emphasising that such a stipulation lies outside the scope of bail conditions, the apex court asserted that the conditions of bail must be relevant to ensuring a free and fair trial.

"There cannot be a condition to pay alimony while granting bail. It is well settled that conditions of bail have to be relevant to the free and fair trial of the case and availability of the accused persons for investigation and trial. Imposing conditions which are irrelevant to the exercise of powers under Section 438 of the CrPC would not be warranted," said a bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti.