Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued a slew of directions to ensure the expeditious disposal of bail applications pending before High Courts across the country, stressing that courts, investigating agencies, and governments must work in coordination to safeguard the personal liberty of undertrial prisoners without compromising victims’ rights.
Expressing concern over delays in hearing bail pleas, a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on May 12 said bail matters should be listed weekly, or at least fortnightly, and directed High Courts to evolve an automatic mechanism for relisting pending bail pleas every two weeks.
Observing that delay in hearing bail applications directly impacts the fundamental rights of accused persons, the court said that fresh bail pleas should ordinarily be listed promptly, preferably on alternate days or within a week from filing.
The Bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, directed that status reports must be mandatorily filed before the first hearing of a bail plea.
It further said that advocates filing bail applications would be required to serve an advance copy upon the office of the Advocate General or the designated agency concerned. “The practice of issuing notice at the admission stage has to be dispensed with,” the top court said, adding that bail applications which could not be taken up for hearing should be automatically relisted without requiring fresh procedural steps.
It further directed all High Courts to prescribe an outer timeline for the expeditious disposal of bail matters and said unnecessary adjournments sought by the Union or state governments should be discouraged.
“Practice has to be developed to not grant casual adjournments to the Union or states, keeping in mind the court’s solemn duty to protect fundamental rights,” the Bench observed. The top court also flagged delays in forensic reports and said that though forensic science laboratories (FSLs) have been established, Chief Justices of High Courts should work in coordination with state governments to ensure the timely submission of FSL reports.
In victim-centric cases, the Supreme Court said investigating officers must remain conscious that any laxity on their part during investigation may ultimately become a ground for the grant of bail to an accused or suspect.
