‘Jail, not bail has become rule’: ex-SC judge on Umar Khalid’s case

New Delhi: Former Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Gupta has launched a sharp critique of India’s judiciary, warning that prolonged incarceration, delayed trials and inadequate protection of fundamental rights are turning the legal process itself into a punishment.

In an article published in The Tribune titled “The True Meaning of Freedom”, Gupta said constitutional courts have increasingly failed to show the urgency and independence required to safeguard individual liberty. He highlighted the prolonged incarceration of activist Umar Khalid, whose trial had not begun despite years in custody, and questioned why the prosecution had not moved with similar urgency if the allegations were considered serious.

Gupta also referred to the Elgar Parishad case, where several accused have spent years in jail without the trial beginning. He noted that one accused died in custody, highlighting the consequences of prolonged pre-trial detention.

The former judge pointed to the wider crisis in India’s prisons, noting that undertrials constitute around three-fourths of the prison population. He argued that the constitutional principle favouring bail has increasingly been replaced in practice by prolonged incarceration before conviction.

Gupta said Article 21’s guarantee of personal liberty was being undermined and recalled Justice H.R. Khanna’s dissent in the ADM Jabalpur case as an example of judicial courage during the Emergency.

He also criticised repeated delays in cases involving personal liberty, citing the detention proceedings concerning Sonam Wangchuk, and warned against majoritarian tendencies within the judiciary.

Calling for greater transparency in judicial appointments and broader social representation on the higher judiciary, Gupta urged judges to act independently and fearlessly. He warned that continued erosion of public confidence in courts could seriously damage India’s democratic institutions.