look news india
The Supreme Court has recently questioned the practice of listening to regular and anticipatory bail applications by the Calcutta High Court through the Division Bench. The court asked why when these cases are heard by a single judge in other High Court, why is the Division Bench in the Calcutta High Court.
The bench of Supreme Court Justice Abhay Oka and Ujjal Bhuiyan said, “When the number of bail applications and the burden of pending cases are high, why is the regular and anticipatory bail application reciting the division bench? In other high courts, it is done by a single judge. Is it appropriate to give two judges time in regular bail cases? ”
Subsequently, the Supreme Court has sought a report on this practice from the Registrar (Judicial) of the Calcutta High Court and asked to submit information about bail applications filed in 2024. This order was issued on the Special Permission Petition (SLP), in which an appeal was made against bail by the Calcutta High Court in a murder case.
According to the National Judicial Data Grid, 1039 bail petitions are pending in the Calcutta High Court, including one in 2019, 102 of 2022, 127 of 2023, 711 of 2024, and 98 petitions of this year.
Petitioner Safiyar Hussain was kept in custody for a year 11 months in the case. He demanded bail. The High Court found that only eight of the charged witnesses had testimony and there was no possibility that the matter would settle quickly.
The Bengal government, opposing the bail, cited the recovery of a gun and six round cartridges from the accused, as well as forensic evidence. However, the High Court admitted that long detention is a violation of the fundamental rights of the accused without a lawsuit and granted bail on this basis.