No Constitutional Court Can Direct Trial Courts To Write Bail Orders In A Particular Manner : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has expressed disapproval of the directions issued by the Rajasthan High Court that the Trial Courts should incorporate in a tabular chart the criminal antecedents of the accused while deciding bail applications. The Court observed that High Cours cannot direct the Trial Courts to write bail orders in a particular manner.

A bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih made this pertinent observation while deciding an appeal filed by a District and Sessions Judge against certain adverse remarks made by the High Court against him. The High Court passed the adverse remarks because the Judge did not incorporate the tabular chart of criminal antecedents while rejecting a bail application.

It was in 2020 that the High Court (in Jugal Kishore v State of Rajasthan) issued directions to the Trial Courts on recording the criminal antecedents of the bail applicants. In 2021, similar directions were reiterated in another case (Gagandeep @ Goldy v. State of Rajasthan). Those general directions issued in the second case(Gagandeep @ Goldy) were deleted by the Supreme Court in February 2023 in SLP (Crl.) No. 11675-11676 of 2022.

In the present case, the Judicial Officer passed the bail order in question in December 2022. The High Court demanded an explanation from him. In the order, the High Court observed that the Judicial Officer's action amounted to judicial discipline. Challenging the High Court's observation, the Judge approached the Supreme Court.

Firstly, the Supreme Court disapproved of the general directions issued by the High Court. In the present case, the Judicial Officer had referred to criminal antecedents of the accused though not in the prescribed tabular chart.

"If the directions in the case of Jugal Kishore are to be strictly implemented, the Court may have to adjourn the hearing of the bail applications to enable the prosecutor to submit the details in the prescribed tabular format," the Supreme Court observed.

Saying that it was not necessary to incorporate all the details of criminal antecedents in the prescribed format, the Supreme Court held that the directions in Jugal Kishore cannot be read as mandatory.

"If a High Court directs that in every bail order, a chart should be incorporated in a particular format, it will amount to interference with the discretion conferred on the Trial Courts," the Court said.

"No Constitutional Court can direct the Trial Courts to write orders on bail applications in a particular manner. One Judge of a Constitutional Court may be of the view that Trial courts should use a particular format. The other Judge may be of the view that another format is better," the Court added.

The Court also expressed disapproval of the High Court seeking an explanation through a judicial order. Explanation can be sought only on the administrative side, the Court said, while expunging the adverse remarks.

Also from the judgment-High Court Cannot Seek Explanation From Judicial Officer By Judicial Order : Supreme Court