Efforts to speed up the administration of justice are welcome

Despite several judgments by the Supreme Court enshrining the principle of 'bail, not jail', the pace of implementation of this principle in the lower courts is still very slow. That is why the apex court has issued some new guidelines and instructions four days ago which are basically about fixing time limits for bail decisions or reserved decisions. If these instructions are followed diligently, they can also facilitate the administration of justice and can also help in reducing crowding in the courts. It is recalled here that a division bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Jaimalya Bagchi has directed all the High Courts through an order that the decision on the bail application should be taken on the same day, or within a maximum of 24 hours, on the day on which it is heard. Similarly, if a High Court bench has reserved its decision on a complex case, its period should not exceed three months. The decision should be issued within three months in any case. These instructions have been issued under the special powers given to the apex court under Article 142 of the Constitution. The purpose of issuing them is to make the functioning of the courts more transparent, fair and accountable. The bench has also said that the entire judicial system should change its mindset and abandon the 'line of sight' attitude and take its decision on every bail application only on the basis of whether the arrest and detention are really necessary. After this, every such decision should be one that respects the limits of the right to liberty granted to every citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution; not one that disregards these limits. 

It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court has already issued an order that every order regarding bail, suspension of sentence or release should come into effect on the same day. It should also be uploaded on the court website immediately so that the police or jail authorities do not have any excuse to delay in releasing the applicant. While granting bail, it must be ensured that the applicant has presented his complete criminal record before the court or not. If he has concealed any other case, then this point should go against him and he should be prosecuted for misleading the court. Guidelines have also been issued for the High Courts to dispose of bail or anticipatory bail applications within one to two months. Similarly, the lower courts have also been asked to dispose of the case related to the detained person within six months. The deadline for disposal of cases pending in the sessions courts within two years is also part of the apex court's orders.

It is clear from all these instructions, guidelines and directions that the Supreme Court is on the path of reducing the phenomenon of 'date after date' and putting an end to unnecessary detentions. The executive should also be directly helpful in this task. At present, 5.58 crore cases are pending in the courts in the country. The Supreme Court alone has 93 thousand cases pending, while the Punjab and Haryana High Court, after strong efforts, has reduced the number of cases pending to around four lakhs. Every effort being made to reduce the cases should be welcomed and the bar associations should also come forward to participate in this task.