LI Network
Published on: 31 July 2023 at 14:15 IST
The Supreme Court has raised concerns over the practice in the Allahabad High Court of listing bail applications arising from the same criminal complaint before different single judges.
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, CT Ravikumar, and PV Sanjay Kumar noted that this practice leads to anomalous situations.
Justice Gavai questioned why some bail pleas related to the same case are heard by one judge who grants bail, while others are heard by a different judge who denies it.
The Court recorded its concern in its order and directed the Registrar General of the Supreme Court to inform the Allahabad High Court about this issue.
The Court highlighted that they have come across several orders from the Allahabad High Court where different judges hear bail pleas originating from the same FIR.
This inconsistency creates confusion as some accused are granted bail while others are not.
The matter came to the Court’s attention during the consideration of an appeal filed by a person named Sajid, represented by advocate Ankur Yadav. Sajid challenged a December 6 order of the Allahabad High Court related to armed rioting.
In a related incident, the Supreme Court recently criticized an Allahabad High Court bench for issuing self-contradictory orders. In this case, the High Court granted protection to five accused while simultaneously rejecting their anticipatory arrest bail pleas.
Furthermore, in May, the Supreme Court expressed disapproval of the Allahabad High Court listing a matter before the same bench that had failed to deliver its verdict in the same case within six months of reserving it.
