In the case concerning a plea for anticipatory bail by Manish Jain, the Supreme Court held on Nov 20, 2020 that an accused cannot move for anticipatory bail once his regular bail has been cancelled by court, because a person released on bail remains under the ‘constructive custody’ of law and a person in custody cannot seek anticipatory bail.
Manish Jain was apprehending arrest pursuant to cancellation of his regular bail. He was granted regular bail in a prosecution under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, but, it was cancelled because of non-appearance under Section 174A of the IPC. The petitioner then approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking anticipatory bail but it was refused. Therefore, he filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court but a bench comprising justices Navin Sinha and K. M. Joseph dismissed the petitions.