Wakilii

Arvind Patel v Uganda [2003] UGSC 25

Supreme Court · 2003 Application Granted ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for bail pending determination of a third criminal appeal to the Supreme Court
Decision
Application for bail pending appeal granted; applicant released on bail on conditions.

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Cited — treatment unverified cited in 1 (treatment unverified) Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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Holding

On an application for bail pending a third criminal appeal, the Supreme Court (Oder JSC) held that the jurisdiction to grant bail pending appeal under rule 5(2)(a) of the Supreme Court Rules is discretionary and to be exercised judiciously. Relevant considerations include the applicant's character, whether he is a first offender, whether the offence involved personal violence, whether the appeal is non-frivolous with a reasonable possibility of success, the possibility of substantial delay, and compliance with prior bail conditions. Not all need be present; a combination of two or more may suffice. Although substantial delay did not apply, the applicant's good character, first-offender status, non-absconding and non-frivolous appeal justified bail. Application granted on conditions.

Facts

The applicant was convicted by the Chief Magistrate's Court of Buganda Road, Kampala, of conspiracy to murder contrary to section 201 of the Penal Code and sentenced to five years' imprisonment on 9 March 1999. His appeal to the High Court was dismissed on 16 March 2001, and his further appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed on 31 October 2002. He lodged a third appeal to the Supreme Court, which remained pending and had been set down for hearing on 2 July 2003. Aged 52, a permanent resident of Uganda though not a citizen, married with a family and a first offender, the applicant had been released on bail throughout his trial and his two prior appeals and had never absconded. The offence did not involve personal violence. He applied for bail pending the determination of his appeal, offering two substantial sureties.

Issues

  1. What criteria govern the grant of bail to a convicted person pending the determination of a criminal appeal.
  2. Whether the applicant satisfied the criteria for the grant of bail pending the determination of his appeal.

Orders

  • Application granted; the applicant released on bail.
  • Payment of cash bail of shs 5,000,000.
  • Surrender of the applicant's passport to the Registrar of the Court.
  • The applicant to report to the Registrar every fortnight at 8.45 am, beginning 2 July 2003.
  • Mr. Paul Patel and Mr. Henry Makmot to stand as sureties, each binding himself by a non-cash bond of shs 10,000,000.

Key headnotes

Criminal Procedure — Bail — Bail pending appeal — Discretionary jurisdiction under rule 5(2)(a) of the Supreme Court Rules
The jurisdiction to grant bail to a convicted person pending the determination of a criminal appeal under rule 5(2)(a) of the Supreme Court Rules is discretionary and must be exercised judiciously.
Criminal Procedure — Bail pending appeal — Distinction from bail before conviction
Different considerations govern bail pending appeal from those governing bail before conviction, because a convicted appellant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence and the sentence has begun to run.
Criminal Procedure — Bail pending appeal — Applicable criteria
In determining whether to grant bail pending appeal a court considers the character of the applicant, whether he is a first offender, whether the offence involved personal violence, whether the appeal is non-frivolous with a reasonable possibility of success, the possibility of substantial delay in determining the appeal, and whether the applicant has complied with bail conditions imposed after conviction.
Criminal Procedure — Bail pending appeal — Sufficiency of criteria
It is not necessary that all the criteria for bail pending appeal be present in every case; a combination of two or more may suffice, and each case must be considered on its own facts and circumstances.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Supreme Court Rules rule 5
  • Supreme Court Rules rule 5(2)(a)
  • Penal Code Act s.201
  • Magistrates Courts Act 1970 s.142
  • Criminal Procedure Code s.333(2)

Cases cited (7)

  • Merali v Republic (1972) EA 47
  • Chimambhai v Republic (No 2) (1971) EA 343
  • Raghbir Singh Lamba v R (1958) EA 337
  • Girdhar Dhanji Masrani v R (1960) EA 320
  • Akbarali Juma Kanji (1946) 22 (I) K.R. 17
  • R V Leinster (Duke), 17,Cr.App.R.147
  • R VS.. A.B. (1926) TLR (R) 118
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.