Short answer. Yes. Rule 114, Section 18 requires the court to give the prosecutor reasonable notice of the bail hearing under Section 8, or to require the prosecutor to submit a recommendation. This ensures the prosecution has a chance to be heard on whether the evidence of guilt is strong before bail is granted.
What the law says
In the application for bail under section 8 of this Rule, the court must give reasonable notice of the hearing to the prosecutor or require him to submit his recommendation.
Rule 114, Section 18 — Notice of application to prosecutor. Read the full provision →
Notice is not optional
Section 18 addresses applications for bail under Section 8 — the provision governing bail where the evidence of guilt must first be weighed. In that setting, the court cannot simply decide the bail application on its own; it must either give the prosecutor reasonable notice of the hearing or require a recommendation from the prosecutor, so the prosecution's voice is built into the process rather than left optional or discretionary for the court to skip. A bail order issued without satisfying either alternative risks being challenged later for having deprived the prosecution of its chance to be heard on the strength of the evidence.
Why the prosecution's input matters here
Where bail is discretionary rather than a matter of right, the outcome typically turns on the strength of the evidence of guilt. The prosecutor is best positioned to speak to that evidence, so Section 18 builds the prosecution's participation into the process rather than leaving the court to rule without hearing from the State. Without this input, the court would be assessing the strength of the evidence largely from the defense's presentation alone, undermining the adversarial process the rule contemplates. That is precisely the imbalance Section 18 is designed to prevent before a bail decision is made in a case of this kind.
Two ways to satisfy the requirement
The rule gives the court a choice: hold a hearing with reasonable notice to the prosecutor so the prosecutor can be present and heard, or instead require the prosecutor to submit a written recommendation. Either route satisfies Section 18, so long as the prosecution's position is obtained before the bail application is resolved. Either route gives the prosecution a documented opportunity to weigh in, which the court can then consider alongside the defense's own showing before ruling on the application. This notice-or-recommendation requirement binds the court, not the prosecutor personally; a prosecutor who is properly notified but simply chooses not to appear or to submit a recommendation does not thereby invalidate a bail ruling the court otherwise makes on the record before it.