India
Courts cannot simply suspend bail orders: Supreme Court | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: High Council Thursday said the courts should not sit still bail bond in an “informal” way because it violated a person’s freedom and made an exception to the Delhi HC Enforcement of a bail order was delayed for more than a year while the suspect remained in jail.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih expressed shock that the Supreme Court had postponed the matter. Court of First Instance bail order to a suspect in a money laundering case and kept the case pending for a year, forcing the suspect to approach the High Court. “What is happening? This is shocking. Please answer our question. Can bail be suspended as a matter of course? Unless he is a terrorist, then what is the reason for suspending? Can you defend yourself? We will put it aside… how HC just suspended bail. Could HC have stayed without a reasoned order? Answer us, what signals are we sending? We are also blaming ourselves,” it said. ED lawyer Zoheb Hossain. The court said that such a practice could not be allowed as it was a question of liberty. “The HC passed the order in a very casual manner. The bail warrant was suspended and the case was then heard after a year. The court did not bother to investigate the matter during that period and he continued to languish in jail,” it said. The court stayed its order but Hossain urged the court to give him at least 10 minutes on Friday to argue the case on behalf of the ED as a high court order would affect other cases as well. He said the prosecution was not responsible for the delay.
Worried about freedom aspect: SC in bail case
We are concerned about the custodial aspect. A person has to remain in jail for a year after being granted bail, the court said, allowing Hossain to submit case law on the issue to the court.
The court was hearing a petition filed by one Parvinder Khurana, who was granted bail by the trial court in a PMLA case on June 17 last year, but the HC stayed the order. On June 7, the SC stayed the HC order and restored Khurana’s bail.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih expressed shock that the Supreme Court had postponed the matter. Court of First Instance bail order to a suspect in a money laundering case and kept the case pending for a year, forcing the suspect to approach the High Court. “What is happening? This is shocking. Please answer our question. Can bail be suspended as a matter of course? Unless he is a terrorist, then what is the reason for suspending? Can you defend yourself? We will put it aside… how HC just suspended bail. Could HC have stayed without a reasoned order? Answer us, what signals are we sending? We are also blaming ourselves,” it said. ED lawyer Zoheb Hossain. The court said that such a practice could not be allowed as it was a question of liberty. “The HC passed the order in a very casual manner. The bail warrant was suspended and the case was then heard after a year. The court did not bother to investigate the matter during that period and he continued to languish in jail,” it said. The court stayed its order but Hossain urged the court to give him at least 10 minutes on Friday to argue the case on behalf of the ED as a high court order would affect other cases as well. He said the prosecution was not responsible for the delay.
Worried about freedom aspect: SC in bail case
We are concerned about the custodial aspect. A person has to remain in jail for a year after being granted bail, the court said, allowing Hossain to submit case law on the issue to the court.
The court was hearing a petition filed by one Parvinder Khurana, who was granted bail by the trial court in a PMLA case on June 17 last year, but the HC stayed the order. On June 7, the SC stayed the HC order and restored Khurana’s bail.
