The objective of this Indian law is to protect the individual against embarrassment or harassment of arrest on false or frivolous charges and to protect public officials from manipulation through abuse of the criminal process. It is an important contribution to civil liberties. The conceptual debate revolves around the definition of bail. However, once anticipatory bail has been implemented, problems emerge regarding eligibility for anticipatory bail, offenses covered by the grant of bail, and court jurisdiction for considering an anticipatory bail motion. Answers to these questions have been developed by the Indian courts. Despite its clear benefits, anticipatory bail presents a high cost in court time and legal complexities. The implementation of this Indian innovation in other countries depends on the extent of abuse of arrest and detention for blackmail purposes or for manipulation of political or commercial systems and civil court suits. 7 references and 8 cases (Author abstract modified)