- How often have we heard about the maxim bail, not jail should be the guiding principle for the law enforcement agencies with the proactive connivance of the judiciary to ensure the citizen’s lawful rights are not compromised. As we are aware, there are millions of undertrials languishing in jails across the country waiting for a hearing and the judicial process to conclude. Unfortunately, the worrying scenario on the speedy adjudication front is too well known in the country as it takes years, and sometimes decades, to arbitrate on the matter. It is worth reiterating how tedious our judicial process is when it comes to ordinary citizens seeking relief.
PC: Khаdji-Murod
- Despite efforts to undertake speedy disposal of millions of pending cases, the backlog is so humongous that it will take several decades to clear the cases as reported extensively from time to time. One such instance was on display recently when the Allahabad Court’s order granted bail to three Kashmiri students accused of pro-Pakistan sloganeering after the India-Pak T-20 cricket match last October. Needless to mention, it is not only a much-delayed correction of police overreach and lower court injustice but also disconcertingly reveals the malaise of prolonged incarceration which otherwise could have been adjudicated quickly.
- The High Court rightly observed that India’s unity is not made of bamboo reeds that will bend to the passing winds of empty slogans. Of course, this case is another in a long line of abuses of the anachronistic sedition law which should not have a place in any progressive and/or aspirational society aiming to surge ahead without any self-defeating policies coming in the way. Note that the provision invented by the British Raj suggesting words or actions can put the government in danger continues to endure to this day. Agonizingly, this is despite the Supreme Court narrowing the scope of the sedition law. SC must also quicken the process of discarding this statute at the earliest.
PC: NANDITA SAIKIA
- Further delving into the instant case will showcase that though the order accords some relief to the students, what is shocking is that it came after spending five harrowing months in jail. The courts must be quicker to grant bail, especially in sedition cases if it lacks merit. And in this instance, the delay was preceded by the Agra bar association’s outrageous diktat against offering legal assistance to these young men as well as the assault they faced on court premises. Unless higher courts perform their responsibility of superintendence and control over subordinate courts with alacrity, the labyrinthine legal process itself becomes the punishment.
- The HC also observed that students traveling for education to different parts of the country must be treated well by host states, which must also respect their constitutional rights. Unfortunately, what is disturbing is the way our governments need reminders on such basics showing why the higher courts are often construed as the only guardians of civil liberties by citizens. It is also imperative that the judiciary, both at the lower and higher levels, are strengthened by appointing judges commensurate with the sanctioned posts to ensure speedy disposal of cases as well.
