Punishing Process

Source: The post is based on an article “Punishing Process” published in The Times of India on 12^th August 2022.

Syllabus: GS 2 Important Provisions of the Constitution of India

Relevance: Fundamental Rights

News: Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) granted permanent medical bail to Varavara Rao on technical grounds, i.e., medical condition, advanced age, adherence to bail conditions, and delay in framing charges.

Observations Made by the SC in this case

Stringent restrictions against bail in laws like Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) don’t hinder constitutional courts from protecting fundamental rights.

What are the issues in the bail provisions of India

At present, too many accused, who have not been proven guilty, are in jail.

The laws like UAPA have defeated the principle of bail as the norm & jail as an exception. Because UAPA requires judges to deny bail if police cases seem to be prima facie true. For example, the Bhima Koregaon case.

Many accused die before bail. For example, Stan Swamy died in judicial custody, while waiting for the Bombay High Court to decide on his plea for bail on medical grounds.

In many cases, even the framing of charges isn’t over.

Undertrials as a percentage of the prison population have been steadily increasing and are 76% at present.

The stringent bail provisions of custody and associated long process delays are nothing but a form of punishment.

The Way Forward

For Justice UU Lalit, who heard Rao’s plea, and will be the next CJI, the problem of undertrial prisoners must take top priority.

The SC bench had proposed a comprehensive bail law. It has reiterated that courts must decide on bail applications within two weeks. Further, investigators must set down reasons for arrest, which trial courts must carefully scrutinize.