Court can reject anticipatory bail but cannot direct accused to surrender: Supreme Court

A court can reject anticipatory bail of an accused but it has no jurisdiction to direct him to surrender before the trial court, the Supreme Court has said.

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan observed while hearing a plea filed by a man accused of cheating and forgery. "If the court wants to reject the anticipatory bail, it may do so, but the court has no jurisdiction to say that the petitioner should now surrender," the Bench said.