The Supreme Court said on Thursday that the trial court is not barred from granting interim bail, taking into consideration the conduct of the accused during the probe, as it issued guidelines for granting bail after the filing of chargesheet. A bench comprising justices S.K. Kaul and M.M. Sundresh said: "In terms of the suggestions, the offences have been categorised and guidelines are sought to be laid down for grant of bail, without fettering the discretion of the courts concerned and keeping in mind the statutory provisions."

The top court accepted the suggestions made by senior advocate Sidharth Luthra and additional solicitor general S.V. Raju in the matter. The top court has put the offences under four categories: (A) Offences punishable with imprisonment of 7 years or less not falling in category B & D; (B) Offences punishable with death, imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for more than 7 years; (C) Offences punishable under Special Acts containing stringent provisions for bail like NDPS, PMLA, UAPA, Companies Act etc.; (D) Economic offences not covered by special acts.