Convicts served 14+ years in jail deserve bail: SC
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Allahabad High Court could grant bail to convicts who have served 14 years or more in jail and are not repeat offenders. The top court observed that it would help in declining pendency, PTI reported.
It also said that convicts who served 10 to 14 years could also be considered for bail while their appeals against their conviction are pending at high courts.
Approximately 1,83,000 Criminal Appeals are pending in Allahabad High Court and its Lucknow benches together till August 2021. Moreover, there are 7,214 convicts in jails across Uttar Pradesh who have served more than ten years. The SC expressed displeasure on Allahabad HC and the UP government's failure in creating a common template for these convicts.
After that, the SC granted bails to 21 cases and said that if a convict served more than 14 years, his case would likely be considered for remission. SC said that the court must direct authorities to proceed within three months or grant convict bail.
It added that it only took 15 to 20 minutes to decide on 20 bail applications and urged the HCs to follow.
The top court has asked the government and Allahabad High Court to jointly come up with suggestions to regulate the matters of bail applications during the pendency of appeals against convictions. But it had added then that if suggestions are not made, it will formulate some on its own.
The SC was hearing appeals convicts who have spent seven or more years in jail, who sought bail as their challenge to conviction is still pending in high court.
