Today, On 28th July, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud emphasized the importance of judges applying robust common sense when handling bail petitions. He urged judges to be pragmatic and judicious in their decisions. This approach, he suggested, would ensure a fairer and more balanced judicial process.
Bengaluru: Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, emphasized on Sunday that trial judges often opt to play it safe by not granting bail in significant criminal cases due to a degree of suspicion. He highlighted the necessity for a “sense of robust common sense” to scrutinize the details of each case.
Justice Chandrachud remarked,
“People who should be getting bail in the trial courts are not getting it there, resulting in them having to invariably move to the high courts. People who should be getting bail in the high courts will not necessarily get it, as a result of which, they have to move to the Supreme Court. This delay compounds the problem of those who are facing arbitrary arrests,”
He made these comments while responding to a question following his keynote address at the ‘11th Annual Conference of the Berkeley Centre on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination‘.
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The questioner noted that society often acts first and seeks forgiveness later, particularly public authorities who detain activists, academics, journalists, and politicians, including opposition party chief ministers, in a politically motivated manner. These actions are taken with a belief in slow justice, he added.
In his reply, Justice Chandrachud pointed out that the Supreme Court has been attempting to convey that a part of the problem lies in an inherent distrust of the country’s institutions.
He said,
“I think it’s important that we learn to trust people who may be in a hierarchical legal system, like much below, which are the trial courts. We have to encourage trial courts to be more receptive to the need for accommodating concerns of people who are seeking liberty,”
He explained,
“Unfortunately, the problem today is this: we look at any grant of relief by trial judges with a degree of suspicion. That means that the trial judges increasingly are playing it safe, not granting bail on important issues of serious crimes,”
The CJI emphasized that judges need to examine the specifics and details of each case carefully.
Justice Chandrachud noted,
“You (judges) have to have a sense of robust common sense. Now, unless we, therefore, separate the grains from the chaff in criminal jurisprudence, it’s very unlikely that we will have just solutions and to allow for decision makers to separate the grain from the chaff, it’s important that we also place a great deal of trust,”
He added,
“My concern is that you can’t render courts as in the hierarchy as you go up dysfunctional, just by the number of very small cases that are placed before us,”
According to him, most of the cases should not have reached the Supreme Court at all.
The CJI underlined,
“The reason why we are prioritizing bail is to send this message across the nation that those at the most incipient levels of the decision-making process have to do their duties without this feeling that I’ve been disgusted that my career will be on the line,”
Chief Justice Chandrachud‘s remarks serve as a reminder that the judiciary’s role is not only to uphold the law but to interpret it in a manner that is fair, just, and humane. His call for the use of robust common sense in bail petitions reflects a commitment to a more compassionate and judicious application of the law, ensuring that justice is both equitable and effective.