Supreme Court Grants Bail After Criticizing Allahabad High Court for Delays
In a strong statement made in April 2022, the Supreme Court of India granted bail to a man who had already spent over 14 years in prison, criticizing the Allahabad High Court for delaying his appeal and not hearing his bail request properly.
Case Background
The man had been convicted in October 2013 in a criminal case and was serving his sentence while his appeal remained pending for over seven years in the High Court. He had applied for bail during this waiting period, but the Allahabad High Court rejected his request in December 2019, saying the appeal should be heard first.
Although the court had ordered the appeal to be listed soon, the hearing kept getting delayed. The man applied several times to get his case listed, but it was not taken up.
Supreme Court’s Criticism
The Supreme Court bench observed that simply refusing bail just because the appeal hasn’t been heard serves no purpose, especially when there are thousands of pending cases in the Allahabad High Court.
“We cannot appreciate the High Court’s approach of rejecting the bail application just because the appeal should be heard,” said the Supreme Court.
The bench pointed out that this kind of handling of bail matters adds more pressure to the court system.
Key Observations by the Supreme Court
- The man had already served 14 years of his sentence.
- His appeal had been pending for over 7 years without a hearing.
- The High Court’s reason for rejecting bail was not practical.
- The Court said such delays are common in Uttar Pradesh, and the state needs to rethink its policies.
The Supreme Court also suggested that in such cases, even remission (early release based on time served) should be considered after such a long time in prison.
Final Decision
The Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s order and granted bail to the man. He will be released on conditions decided by the trial court.
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