New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reiterated the law on bail saying, “bail is the rule and jail and exception”, while granting bail to a person who is allegedly an active member of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and was supposedly to be a part of a conspiracy to disturb the visit of Prime Minister to Bihar.
Bail is the rule and jail is an exception is a settled law: Apex Court
A bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice AG Masih held that “Bail is the rule and jail is an exception” is a settled law. Even in a case like the present case where there are stringent conditions for the grant of bail in the relevant statutes, the same rule holds good with only modification that the bail can be granted if the conditions in the statute are satisfied.
The court added, “The rule also means that once a case is made out for the grant of bail, the Court cannot decline to grant bail. If the Courts start denying bail in deserving cases, it will be a violation of the rights guaranteed under Article 21 of our Constitution.”
This is for the second time in a week time that apex court has stressed bail is rule and jail an exception
This is for the second time that in a weeks time the supreme court of India has stressed the stand that the settled law is that ‘bail is the rule and jail an exception.’
Apex court last week granted bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia saying bail is rule jail an exception
Last week a bench led by Justice Gavai while granting bail to Manish Sisodia in the Delhi Excise case had held that ‘bail is the rule and jail an exception’.
Justice Gavai in his judgment had rued the fact that trial courts and the High Courts attempt to play safe in matters of grant of bail. The principle that bail is a rule and refusal is an exception is, at times, followed in breach.
The court had also said that over a period of time, the trial courts and the High Courts have forgotten a very well-settled principle of law that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice AG Masih have held that this principle of bail is the rule and jail an exception will also apply for accused in serious offences like Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) also.
The court said, “When a case is made out for a grant of bail, the Courts should not have any hesitation in granting bail. The allegations of the prosecution may be very serious. But, the duty of the Courts is to consider the case for grant of bail in accordance with the law.”
Apex court granted to one Jalaluddin Khan who was booked under UAPA
The accused granted bail is one Jalaluddin Khan, a former police constable, who along with other persons were arrested by the Bihar police in July 2022 and booked under provisions of UAPA.
The allegation against Jalauddin Khan is that he gave his house on rent to a co-accused from where anti-india conspiracy were hatched.
The Police recovered from the rented premises documents relating to unlawful activities aimed at disrupting the sovereignty of India and to cause disaffection against the country as also for establishing Pan- Islamic rule in India by subverting the Constitution of India.
The bail application of Jalaluddin was rejected earlier by the trial court and the High court and Khan had approached the Supreme court for bail.
Finding fault with the decisions of the trial court and the High court, the Supreme Court held that “The charge sheet does not mention the name of the terrorist organisation within the meaning of Section 2(m) of which the appellant was a member. We find that the PFI is not a terrorist organisation, as is evident from the first schedule.”