New Delhi, May 2 -- Cautioning against routine issuance of non-bailable warrants (NBWs), the Supreme Court has said that NBWs should not be issued unless the accused is charged with a heinous crime, and is likely to evade the process of law or destroy evidence."It is a settled position of law that non-bailable warrants cannot be issued in a routine manner and that the liberty of an individual cannot be curtailed unless necessitated by the larger interest of public and the State," a Bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna said in its May 1 judgment.

The Bench - which also included Justice SVN Bhatti - allowed appeals filed by one Sharif Ahmed and Adil against an Allahabad High Court verdict refusing to quash the criminal proceedings against th...