SC sets terms for decision on bail

R. Balaji, TT, Jan 03, 2018 New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that courts must give valid and written reasons for rejecting or granting bail as well as anticipatory bail in criminal cases.

"General observations that 'looking at the overall facts and circumstances of the case, it is not considered proper to grant bail' can never be the reasoning, much less judicial reasoning, required for rejection of the bail petition, whether it is filed under Section 438 (anticipatory bail) or Section 439 (regular bail) of the (criminal procedure) code," a bench of Justices R.K. Agrawal and A.M. Sapre said in a recent judgment.

The apex court directive came on an appeal filed by an accused, Prem Giri, challenging a Rajasthan High Court ruling that rejected his anticipatory bail plea in a case of assault on a public servant.

Partly allowing the appeal, Justice Sapre said: "We are constrained to observe that the learned single judge did not apply its judicial mind and passed the impugned order in a very casual and cavalier manner....

"He neither set out the facts... nor mentioned the submissions of the learned counsel... nor his reasoning as to why he does not consider it proper to grant anticipatory bail," the bench added.

The apex court, however, said it was not going into the merits of the case. The bench sent the matter to the high court for a fresh assessment "uninfluenced by any of our observations...."