The Supreme Court on Friday instructed all High Courts and trial courts to ensure that bail and anticipatory bail pleas are decided within two months of filing, unless the delay is attributable to the parties involved, according to Live Law.
The court further asked High Courts to create systems to prevent the accumulation of pending bail and anticipatory bail applications, the outlet reported.
A bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan underlined the constitutional significance of personal liberty, noting that prolonged pendency of bail applications undermines the fundamental right to freedom, The Indian Express reported.
The bench observed that unnecessary delay in disposing of such pleas not only defeats the purpose of the Code of Criminal Procedure but also amounts to denial of justice, running contrary to the constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 21.
While Article 14 provides for equality before the law, Article 21 safeguards an individual’s right to life and liberty.
“The grant or refusal of bail, anticipatory or otherwise, is ordinarily a straightforward exercise, turning on the facts of each case,” the court said. “There is, therefore, no justification for deferring decision-making and allowing a sword of Damocles to hang over the applicant’s head.”
The directives were issued while the court upheld a Bombay High Court ruling that had rejected anticipatory bail pleas filed by two Maharashtra revenue officials accused of cheating and forging property records, Hindustan Times reported. Their applications, which were filed in 2019, had remained undecided for nearly six years.
The apex court affirmed the need for custodial interrogation in light of the serious allegations, but held that the delay in disposing of the applications was unwarranted. It also directed investigating agencies to complete pending probes without delay so that neither the accused nor complainants are made to suffer, Live Law reported.
Data from the National Judicial Data Grid shows that over 2.6 lakh bail applications are still pending in district courts, according to Hindustan Times.