Decide anticipatory, regular bail within 2 months from filing date: SC to HC’s
New Delhi: Prolonged delay in disposal of regular and anticipatory bail pleas amounts to a denial of justice, the Supreme Court on Friday said and directed high courts to decide such applications within two months from the date of filing.
Issuing a slew of directions, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said applications concerning personal liberty couldn’t be kept pending for years while the applicants remain under a “cloud of uncertainty”.
The apex court said regular and anticipatory bail applications must be decided expeditiously on merits without relegating the parties to a state of indefinite pendency.
Prolonged delay in disposal not only frustrates the object of criminal procedure code, but also amounts to a denial of justice, contrary to the constitutional ethos reflected in Articles 14 and 21, it added.
“High courts shall ensure that applications for bail and anticipatory bail pending before them or before the subordinate courts under their jurisdiction are disposed of expeditiously, preferably within a period of two months from the date of filing, except in cases where delay is attributable to the parties themselves,” the bench said.
The top court also asked the high courts to issue necessary administrative directions to district courts to prioritise matters involving personal liberty and to avoid indefinite adjournments.
“Investigating agencies are expected to conclude investigations in long pending cases with promptitude so that neither the complainant nor the accused suffers prejudice on account of undue delay,” the bench said.
Being the highest constitutional fora in states, the bench said, high courts must devise suitable mechanisms and procedures to avoid accumulation of pending bail or anticipatory bail applications and ensure liberty of citizens was not left in abeyance.
“In particular, bail and anticipatory bail applications shall not be kept pending for long durations without passing orders either way, as such pendency directly impinges upon the fundamental right to liberty. The Registrar (Judicial) of this Court shall circulate a copy of this judgment to all High Courts for immediate compliance and prompt administrative action,” the bench said.
The judgement came on an appeal against a Bombay High Court order dismissing the anticiatory bail of accused in a cheating and forgery case.
The court noted apart from the relief of anticipatory bail, a significant issue that arose for consideration related to the high court’s delay in the disposal of the appellants’ applications for anticipatory bail.
