Bail Application Must Be Decided Expeditiously And Not To Be Posted In 'Due Course Of Time': Supreme Court

The Supreme Court reiterated that bail applications must be decided as expeditiously as possible and not to be posted in due course of time.

The bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and BV Nagarathna observed thus while considering a Special Leave Petition against an order passed by Chhattisgarh High Court dismissing an interim relief prayed in an anticipatory bail application. The High Court had admitted the bail petition posted the matter for final hearing 'in due course'.

This is an unusual practice and which this Court has never come across, the bench observed.  The bench then requested the Chief Justice of the High Court to take a judicial note of this issue.

"At least the bail applications whether it is pre-arrest bail or post-arrest bail (under Section 438 or 439 of the Code) must be decided as expeditiously as possible. Although we are not supposed to give any guidelines for the disposal of the bail applications but at the same time we always expect that bail applications must be decided as expeditiously as possible and not to be posted in due course of time.", the court said.

The court noticed that after it passed interim order in SLP, the anticipatory bail has been granted to the petitioner by the High court. Recording this, the bench dismissed the SLP as infructuous. 

Case details

Tulsi Ram Sahu vs State of Chhattisgarh | 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 764 | SLP(Crl) 2564/2022 | 8 September 2022 |  Justices Ajay Rastogi and BV Nagarathna

Headnotes

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ; Sections 438, 439 - Bail applications must be decided as expeditiously as possible and not to be posted in due course of time.

Click here to Read/Download Order