UP HC directs judges of district, sessions courts to dispose of bail applications in 2 weeks

PTI, May 6, 2023, 8:14 AM IST

The Allahabad High Court has asked judges of all district and sessions courts in the state to dispose of bail applications within two weeks in light of the recent Supreme Court judgment in the case of Satender Kumar Antil vs CBI.

The directive was issued in a communication by the registrar general of the high court, addressed to all district and sessions judges in Uttar Pradesh.

”It is the bound duty of the subordinate judiciary to follow the law of the land and even after that if people are sent to judicial custody where they are not required to and if aggrieved parties move further litigation on account of the same, the magistrates may withdraw from judicial works and be sent to the judicial academies for upgradation of their skill for some time,” the letter stated.

The letter refers to the recent Supreme Court order in which it took serious note of judicial officers dealing with bail applications in a ”lackadaisical manner” even after clear directions issued time and again.

In March, the apex court had said that even after 10 months of a judgment being passed, the district judiciary was not complying with the directions issued in the Satender Kumar Antil case.

In its judgment delivered in July last year in the case of Satender Kumar Antil vs CBI and another, the top court passed several directions, including that bail pleas ought to be disposed of within a period of two weeks except if the provisions mandate otherwise, with the exception being an intervening application.

It had said applications for anticipatory bail were expected to be disposed of within a period of six weeks, with the exception of any intervening application.

Prior to that, in another order passed in October 2021, the apex court had issued guidelines for granting bail after the filing of the chargesheet and said trial courts were not precluded from granting interim relief, considering the accused’s conduct during the probe.