New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said thousands of bail petitions pending in high courts for years violate the “invaluable” right to liberty and ordered that the liberty to issue notices on bail petitions can be given to the prosecution by serving a copy of the petition in advance so that they are able to respond on the first day of hearing.At present, the common practice is for courts to issue notice on the bail plea of ​​the accused and seek response from the concerned state government, investigating agency or prosecution. The reply is filed after weeks, thus delaying the disposal of petitions for release from judicial or police custody in connection with a criminal case.

Protecting liberty of accused does not mean ignoring rights of victim: SC

The Madras High Court received praise from a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi for taking the shortest time to decide bail pleas. Although Allahabad HC is one of the high courts where bail petitions are pending, the bench appreciated the fact that the number of pending cases there is very high, where judges have to hear around 200 bail petitions daily.Emphasizing that speedy hearing of bail petitions should not be at the expense of the rights of victims of crime, the bench issued a number of directions, including automatic re-listing of bail petitions for hearing at least once in a fortnight through a software program which has already been considered.Expediting the hearing of the bail petition, the Supreme Court said that taking steps to protect the liberty of the accused does not mean paying attention to the rights of victims of crime. “The responsibility of the investigating agencies and the prosecution is very important in victim-centric criminal cases, where any laxity on their part may result in the accused getting bail,” it said.The bench said the high court will take steps to develop a practice to discourage the government, investigating agencies and the prosecution from seeking adjournment of the trial, “reminding them of the solemn duty of the court to protect the most precious fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution”.The Supreme Court observed that in many cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, trials were delayed due to non-prompt submission of forensic laboratory reports. The CJI-led bench asked HC chief justices to join the government in expediting FSL reports in court cases.The bench suggested the High Courts to create a portal giving the status of each bail petition pending before them, so that the accused, the prosecution and the court can take remedial steps for their speedy disposal.