R v Gurpal Raytt

An offence under section 6(1) of the Bail Act 1976 can be committed only by a person released on bail in criminal proceedings. A person who fails to attend in answer to a summons, but has not been granted bail, cannot lawfully be convicted of failing to surrender to bail. The conduct may potentially amount to contempt of court, but that requires contempt proceedings to have been commenced. Where the wrong offence has been admitted and a conviction follows, the conviction must be quashed. Any sentence imposed for it, including its statutory post-sentence consequences, falls away.

The applicant sought an extension of 176 days to appeal against a Crown Court conviction for failing to surrender to bail. He had been summoned to attend the Crown Court in connection with an alleged breach of a community order, but did not attend. The court issued an arrest warrant that was not backed for bail.

When produced before the Crown Court, he admitted failing to attend. The matter was recorded and dealt with as a breach of the Bail Act 1976. He received two days’ imprisonment, which triggered 12 months’ post-sentence supervision under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The central issue was whether he could be guilty of failing to surrender to bail when his obligation was to obey a summons rather than to surrender while on bail.

1. The court extended time, granted leave, allowed the appeal and quashed the conviction. The prosecution accepted that the applicant had been convicted and sentenced for an offence of which he could not in law have been guilty.

2. Section 6(1) of the Bail Act 1976 concerns a person released on bail in criminal proceedings who fails, without reasonable excuse, to surrender to custody. The applicant had not been released on bail. He had failed to answer a summons issued for an alleged breach of his community order. The arrest warrant later issued was not backed for bail. His admission therefore could not found a conviction for failing to surrender to bail.

3. The court recognised that a failure to surrender when required by a summons could potentially be treated as contempt of court. That possibility could not sustain this conviction because no contempt proceedings had been commenced against the applicant.

4. Under section 13 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960, read with section 6(5) of the Bail Act 1976, an appeal lay as of right against the purported Crown Court conviction. The court exercised its power under section 18A of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 to extend the time for appealing.

5. The two-day custodial sentence consequently fell away. So too did the 12-month post-sentence supervision triggered by section 256AA of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Magistrates’ Court was to be informed and the proceedings for alleged breach of that supervision were to be discontinued.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): Time was extended, leave was granted, and the appeal was allowed. The conviction for failing to surrender to bail and the resulting sentence were quashed.

• Crown Court at Kingston-upon-Hull: On 5 July 2023, the applicant admitted failing to attend in answer to a summons. The matter was recorded and dealt with as a failure to surrender to bail. On 6 July 2023, he received two days’ imprisonment.