The Supreme Court Today (Dec 16) expressed concern over instances where persons accused of relatively minor criminal offences are compelled to approach the apex court for bail. A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Manmohan emphasised that prolonged incarceration was not necessary in such cases which are triable by magistrates.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today voiced serious concern over the trend of individuals accused of minor criminal offences having to approach the apex court for bail.
A Bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Manmohan highlighted that prolonged incarceration in such cases, which are typically triable by magistrates, is unnecessary and avoidable. The Court emphasized the need for judicial efficiency and timely granting of bail to prevent undue hardships to the accused.
Addressing one such case during the proceedings, the Bench remarked,
“Time and again, we have said that there is no point in keeping a person in custody. He should have been given bail earlier only.”
The case in question involved an appeal challenging the Allahabad High Court’s decision to deny bail to an individual accused of creating fraudulent GST registrations using stolen PAN and Aadhaar details.
The Supreme Court expressed surprise at the denial of bail to the appellant, particularly when other co-accused in the same case had already been granted bail.
The Bench underscored the practical difficulties arising from delayed trials in such cases, observing,
“In murder cases, we are granting bail considering the situations. Such Magistrate-triable cases won’t be heard for 10 years. What is the purpose of keeping them in jail? On first principles, can we deny them bail? Even two co-accused have been granted bail.”
Despite these observations, counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh sought additional time to argue that the case of the present accused was distinguishable from that of the co-accused who had been granted bail.
In light of this request, the Bench scheduled the matter for further hearing on December 23.
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