The Supreme Court has set out eight grounds on which bail may be cancelled, ruling that liberty cannot be withdrawn on arbitrary or unreasonable grounds once bail has been granted.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan laid down the guidance while hearing a petition to cancel bail granted to Anwar Ali Kori in a Larkana electricity-theft case. Justice Mazhar authored the judgment.

The court said the legal principles governing the grant and cancellation of bail are distinct. Under Section 497(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, bail may be cancelled where it was granted in violation of mandatory legal provisions or by overlooking material evidence, or where the accused misuses the concession.

The eight grounds cover conduct after release and defects in the original order. Bail may be withdrawn where the accused misuses the concession, tries to influence prosecution witnesses, tampers with evidence or obstructs justice, is likely to flee the jurisdiction, interferes with a fair investigation, or commits a similar offence while on bail. The remaining two grounds are where the original order was prima facie illegal or unjust, and where new evidence emerges indicating involvement in the offence.

The court observed that it generally does not interfere with bail orders passed by high courts unless the discretion exercised is arbitrary, unfair or perverse.

In the case itself, the petitioner, Ali Asghar Khokhar, had challenged a Sindh High Court Larkana Circuit Court order of 20 October 2025 granting bail. The high court had relied on a nine-month delay in registering the first information report, for which no reasonable explanation had been given. The complainant later said he did not wish to press the petition, and the court disposed of it.

[Source: voicepk.net](https://voicepk.net/2026/11/sc-sets-guidelines-for-bail-cancellation-freedom-cannot-be-revoked-arbitrarily/) | [Source: thepakistandaily.com](https://thepakistandaily.com/supreme-court-rules-bail-withdrawal-cancellation/)