Pre-Arrest Bail: Section 498 CrPC

The section, as retrieved

498. Power to direct admission to bail or reduction of bail: The amount of every bond executed under this Chapter shall be fixed with due regard to the circumstances of the case, and shall not be excessive, and the High Court or Court of Session may in any case, whether there be an appeal on conviction or not, direct that any person be admitted to bail, or that the bail required by a police officer or Magistrate be reduced. 498-A. No bail to be granted to a person not in custody, in Court or against whom no case is registered, etc.: Nothing in Section 497 or Section 498 shall be deemed to require or authorise a Court to release on bail, or to direct to be admitted to bail, any person who is not in custody or is not present in Court or against whom no case stands registered for the time being, and an order for the release of a person on bail, or a direction that a person be admitted to bail, shall be effective only in respect of the case that so stands registered against him and is specified in the order or direction. Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 — Chapter XXXIX, Sections 498 and 498-A. Retrieved from the corpus indexed by FAI Legal Research Assistant.

Retrieved via full-text search of the indexed Criminal Procedure Code 1898. The corpus flags this text as unverified for currency or amendment — see the caution below before relying on it.

What this means

Section 498 gives the High Court or a Court of Session a general power to admit a person to bail, or to reduce a bail amount fixed by a police officer or a Magistrate — and requires that a bond amount not be excessive, regardless of which court set it. This is the provision most commonly used for what is called "pre-arrest bail" in practice, though the section itself does not use that phrase.

Section 498-A is a limit on that power, not a grant of one: it says the power under 497 or 498 cannot be used to release someone who is not in custody, not present in court, or against whom no case is even registered — and that a bail order only covers the specific registered case named in it, not other matters.

What this page does not cover

• The procedural conditions courts have developed for pre-arrest bail applications (notice to the state, timelines, confirmation hearings) — these come from case law and High Court rules, not from the bare text of Section 498.
• Bail in a non-bailable offence generally, which is Section 497 — see the separate page on Section 497.
• Amendments made after the text above was indexed.

Frequently asked

Does Section 498 mention "pre-arrest bail" by name?

No — the phrase does not appear in the section. It grants a general power to admit to bail or reduce bail, which courts and practice have applied to bail sought before arrest.

Can a bail order under Section 498 cover a case not yet registered?

No. Section 498-A specifically bars using Sections 497 or 498 to release someone against whom no case is registered, and confines any bail order to the case actually named in it.