The Supreme Court recently dealt with the issue of whether a trial court has the jurisdiction to cancel bail granted by a higher court. The case arose from the 2016 murder of Yogesh Goudar, a Zilla Panchayat member from Dharwad, Karnataka, who was killed outside his gym in a suspected political conspiracy. Initially investigated by local police, the matter was later handed over to the CBI, resulting in additional accused being named. Respondent Vinay Rajashekharappa Kulkarni was arrested in 2020 and, after his bail was denied by the trial court and High Court, was granted bail by the Supreme Court in August 2021, with strict conditions, including refraining from influencing witnesses. However, the CBI alleged that Kulkarni violated these conditions by contacting witnesses and influencing an approver who subsequently retracted his statement. The CBI moved the trial court to cancel the bail, but the trial court wrongly held that it lacked jurisdiction to do so as bail had been granted by the Supreme Court. Reversing this view, the Supreme Court clarified that under Section 439(2) CrPC (now Section 483(3) BNSS), trial courts do have the authority to cancel bail granted by superior courts when bail conditions are breached. Accordingly, the Supreme Court canceled Kulkarni’s bail, emphasizing that violations such as witness tampering are serious grounds warranting cancellation.