Aishwarya Rathore-
Published On: October 05, 2021 at 16:38 IST
The Supreme Court initiated a Suo Moto case on the issue of long pendency of Criminal Appeals in the Allahabad High Court.
The Court is considering formulating guidelines for the grant of bail to convicts who have served long periods of imprisonment due to delays in the hearing of their criminal appeals.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh stated, “We are of the view that the convict must reach the High Court first since this Court is already burdened. But there must be a mechanism that if the accused reaches there, the appeal must be heard promptly.”
The Court further stated, “The suggestions given by the Allahabad High Court in its Affidavit are too cumbersome for the Court to accept. Someone will have to apply their mind.”
The Court had earlier sought the response of the Allahabad High Court on the issue while hearing a Petition for suspension of sentence submitted by a Convict.
The Bench had remarked that numerous convicts are approaching the Supreme Court for sentence suspension since criminal appeals are not heard by the Allahabad High Court.
The Court further noted, “There may be convicts in custody in life sentence cases and such cases when 50% of the sentence has undergone it can be the basis of grant of Bail. We grant four weeks to the High Court to place before us the policy in this regard. “
The Court further directed the Registry to register Suo Moto proceedings and present them before the Court on November 16, 2021.
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