To expedite bail hearing, high courts can dispense with notice: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Monday said pendency of thousands of bail petitions for years in high courts violated the "precious" right to liberty and ordered that issuance of notice on bail pleas could be dispensed with by serving a petition copy in advance on prosecution to enable them to respond on the very first day of hearing.

At present, the normal practice for courts is to issue notice on the bail plea of the accused and seek response from the state govt, investigating agency or prosecution concerned. The response gets filed after weeks, thus delaying disposal of pleas for release from judicial or police custody in connection with a criminal case.

Protecting accused’s liberty doesn’t mean neglecting victim’s rights: SC

Madras High Court got a thumbs up from the bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi for taking the least time in deciding bail petitions. Though Allahabad HC is among those with high pendency of bail pleas, the bench appreciated the fact that sheer number of cases pending there was overwhelming, with judges having to hear nearly 200 bail pleas daily.

While emphasising that speedy hearing of bail petitions should not be at the cost of rights of victims of crimes, the bench issued a slew of directions, including automatic re-listing of bail petitions, which had already been entertained, for hearing at least once a fortnight through a software programme.

While expediting the hearing of bail plea, the SC said steps to protect liberty of accused did not mean neglecting attention to the rights of victims of crime. "Responsibility of investigating agencies and prosecution is very important in victim-centric criminal cases where any laxity on their part could result in grant of bail to accused," it said.

The bench said HCs would take steps to evolve a practice to discourage govt, probe agencies and prosecution from seeking adjournment of hearing, "reminding them about the court's solemn duty to protect the most precious fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution".

The SC noticed that in many cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the trial got delayed because of non-furnishing of forensic laboratory reports expeditiously. The CJI-led bench asked HC chief justices to engage with govts to expedite FSL reports in court cases.

The bench suggested to HCs to have a portal giving status of pendency of each bail plea pending before them to enable the accused, prosecution and court to take remedial steps for their expeditious disposal.