Courts to be sensitive on deleterious aspects of continued jail, says SC while granting bail to NDPS accused

The Supreme Court has asked courts to be sensitive to deleterious aspects of continued incarceration of the accused in cases under the special laws, as in situation of acquittal, the loss to his life is irreparable.

The top court also emphasised that cases, where special laws have been enacted with stringent provisions, should be taken up and concluded speedily.

A bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta said it would be important to reflect that laws which imposed stringent conditions for grant of bail, may be necessary in public interest; yet, if trials are not concluded in time, the injustice wrecked on the individual is immeasurable.

"Jails are overcrowded and their living conditions, more often than not, appalling," the bench said.

Also Read: No one should suffer incarceration without legal authority: SC

According to the Union Home Ministry’s response to Parliament, the National Crime Records Bureau had recorded that as on December 31, 2021, over 5,54,034 prisoners were lodged in jails against total capacity of 4,25,069 lakhs in the country. Of these 122,852 were convicts; the rest 4,27,165 were undertrials, the bench pointed out.

Referring to the danger of unjust imprisonment, the bench said incarceration has further deleterious effects, where the accused belonged to the weakest economic strata: immediate loss of livelihood, and in several cases, scattering of families as well as loss of family bonds and alienation from society.

The court reflected upon these issues, while granting bail to Mohd Muslim alias Hussain who was arrested at the age of 23 years and continued to languish in jail for seven years while criminal trial has only reached half-way mark.

Though the petitioner was not found in possession of contraband substance, 'Ganja', main accused and co-accused were already granted bail, it noted.

Citing Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Substances Act, the bench said, the court would have to look at the material in a broad manner, and reasonably see whether the accused’s guilt may be proved.