bond

Under the Indian Stamp Act, a bond includes any instrument by which a person obliges himself to pay money to another on condition that the obligation shall be void if a specified act is done or not done, and certain instruments attested by a witness and not payable to order or bearer by which a person obliges himself to pay money to another. Bonds attract stamp duty.

In criminal procedure, a bond (or bail bond) is the undertaking by an accused, with or without sureties, to appear before the court, forfeited on default. In finance, a bond is a debt security issued by a government or company. In service law, a bond may require an employee to serve for a period or repay training costs; such terms are tested against s.27 and s.74 of the Contract Act.

Example

The accused executed a personal bond for Rs. 25,000, which the court forfeited when he failed to appear on the next date.

In Indian law

• Section 2(5), Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (bond defined)
• Section 491, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (old s.446 CrPC): procedure when bond has been forfeited

See also

bail · surety · instrument · stamp duty

Read more in the study notes

• Bail, anticipatory bail and bonds (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Control of the RBI over non-banking companies, financial and non-financial (Banking Law)
• Criminal procedure: meaning, background and salient features of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Definitions, classification of offences, and the courts, prosecution and police under the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Processes to compel appearance and production of things (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Security for keeping the peace and good behaviour; maintenance of wives, children and parents (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)