New Delhi, Feb. 10 -- The Supreme Court has held that the grant of bail or anticipatory bail cannot be linked to monetary deposits or similar financial conditions, terming the practice "very unfortunate" and cautioning courts against insisting on such stipulations as a precondition for liberty. A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan made the observation while setting aside orders of the Jharkhand high court that had effectively made the grant of anticipatory bail conditional on the accused depositing over Rs.9 lakh towards an alleged business liability. The court underscored that bail decisions must be based strictly on the merits of the case and the governing legal principles, not on whether the accused is willing or able to deposit money or give undertakings. P7...