After Supreme Court's Criticism, Calcutta High Court Amends Rule On Listing Bail Applications Before Division Bench

The Supreme Court was informed by the Calcutta High Court today that it has amended its Appellate Side Rules to allow single judges to hear most bail applications. The amendment to Rule 9(2)(ii) of Chapter II will come into effect from April 1, 2025.

Rule 9(2)(ii) reads thus, “All bail applications at the pre-conviction stage, anticipatory bail applications, cancellation of bail applications unless otherwise prescribed by statute; shall be heard by a Single Judge.”

A bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had earlier raised concerns regarding the High Court's practice of assigning bail applications to division benches, while other High Courts followed the practice of single judges hearing such matters. Following the Supreme Court's observations, the Calcutta High Court amended its Rules.

After the amendment, Rule 9(2)(ii) provides that all pre-conviction bail applications, anticipatory bail applications, and bail cancellation applications will be heard by a single judge unless a statute specifically requires otherwise. However, appeals or references involving sentences of death, rigorous imprisonment exceeding seven years, or acquittal from offenses where the sentence may be death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for over seven years will continue to be heard by a division bench.

The previous Rule 9(2) mandated that certain categories of bail applications, including those under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, as well as anticipatory bail applications and bail matters in cases with sentences exceeding seven years, were to be placed before a division bench.

The Supreme Court had earlier expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in amending the rule. On February 20, 2025, the Full Court of the Calcutta High Court resolved to amend the provision but referred the matter to the Rule Committee to draft the amendment instead of implementing the change immediately. Noting that the proposal to amend the rule had been pending for 12 years, the Supreme Court remarked on the lack of prompt action.

The Supreme Court had expressed hope that the Full Court would consider the larger interests of justice while making its decisions.

The Court had also sought data on bail applications from the Calcutta High Court. The compliance report submitted by the Registrar General-in-Charge revealed that over 11,000 bail applications, both regular and anticipatory, were filed in 2024.

With the amendment now notified, the amended Rule will come into force from April 1, 2025, enabling single judges to handle most bail applications, aligning the Calcutta High Court's practice with that of other High Courts.

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