NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said bail petitions should not be shut out for one reason or the other as liberty of a citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution is of the paramount importance.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta noted with concern that the Bombay High Court has not been deciding the bail pleas promptly.
The court said it has come across various matters from the Bombay High Court, where the bail or anticipatory bail applications are not being decided expeditiously.
"We have also come across one matter, wherein the application for anticipatory bail was not decided for a period of more than four years," the bench said.
The court said not deciding the matter pertaining to liberty of a citizen expeditiously and shunting away the matter on one or the other ground would deprive the party of their precious right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
"Needless to state that Article 21 of the Constitution of India is the soul of the Constitution as the liberty of a citizen is of paramount importance," the bench said.
The court asked the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court to convey its request to all the judges to decide bail or anticipatory bail applications as expeditiously as possible.
The court therefore asked the Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay to convey request to all the Judges exercising the criminal jurisdiction to decide the matter pertaining to bail/anticipatory bail as expeditiously as possible.
The bench pointed out in the instant case the High Court granted bail to the petitioner on merits on February 12, 2024 after an order was passed by the court on January 29, 2024. The HC had earlier referred the bail plea to the trial court, even after noting the petitioner has been in jail for over seven years.
