PIL In Madhya Pradesh High Court Seeks Direction To Avoid "Unnecessary Delays" In Deciding Bail And Suspension Of Sentence Pleas

A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been moved in the Madhya Pradesh High Court for a direction to the state authorities to avoid "unnecessary delays" in deciding bail pleas of accused persons and suspension of sentence pleas of convicts.

The plea states that the same infringes upon the right of these persons to "speedy justice" which is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. 

The petitioner, advocate Amitabha Gupta, in his plea has sought to draw the court's attention to the "practice of public prosecutors seeking adjournments"in the name of bringing documents such as "criminal antecedents and custody reports" of the accused persons.

It states that if these essential records were made available in the first hearing and if these are incorporated in the judgment itself it would prevent unnecessary adjournments, save judicial time, reduce burden on administrative machinery as well as reduce financial burden on the State. 

According to the petition, adjournments are often requested by public prosecutors to "procure and present" the criminal antecedents or custody reports of the applicants. These procedural delays result in adjournments spanning 1-2 weeks or deferment of substantive hearings on bail applications and suspension of sentence applications and also creates avoidable procedural bottlenecks, it adds. 

The petitioner has further contended that these delays could be avoided if the criminal antecedents of convict or accused are brought to the court by the public prosecutor in the very first hearing along with case diary. The plea states that trial court while writing the judgment of conviction can record in its the convict's criminal antecedent and time spent in custody as an undertrial. 

Additionally, the petitioner has highlighted the importance of timely access to records for the efficient functioning of the judicial system. Petitioner has argued that there is a form for recording criminal antecedents which already exists and is prescribed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The PIL prays for adhering to these guidelines to ensure that judicial time is utilized proficiently.

Among various reliefs, the plea seeks a direction to state authorities including the Department of Home Affairs and the Director General of Police (MP), to ensure that criminal antecedents of an accused or convict are recorded in the prescribed form. It further seeks that this information is made available at the first hearing of a bail or sentence suspension application. Further, the plea seeks that the trial courts be directed to include the criminal antecedent of convicts in the judgment of conviction. 

Case title: Amitabha Gupta vs. State of MP & Ors.

Case No: WP No. 31359/2024