Undue delay in a trial can be a ground for granting bail

Subject: Polity

Section: Judiciary

Concept:

Supreme Court last week held that “undue delay” in a trial can be a ground for granting bail to an accused even under stringent special legislation such as the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The ruling is significant because the bar for bail otherwise is quite high under the law, similar to the standards in anti-terror legislation.

Details

NDPS is an exception to the ordinary rules for granting bail.
Under Section 37 of the Act, for a court to grant bail it has to be satisfied that “that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such an offence” and that upon release, “isn’t likely to commit any offence.”
This high bar, requiring the accused to prove innocence at the time of seeking bail, ensures getting bail under the law is virtually impossible for certain offences.
Now, the SC has said that the condition seeking the court’s satisfaction to the extent that an accused is not guilty of an offence “has to be interpreted reasonably.”
In a 2008 verdict in ‘Vaman NarainGhiya v. State of Rajasthan’, the Supreme Court has upheld the stringent bail provisions under NDPS.

Undue Delay in Law

The Court said that the stringent conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act cannot override the general law for granting bail for undue delay in the trial.
Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires an accused to be granted bail if the trial is not concludedwithin specified periods.
Moreover, the expression “reasonable grounds” used in Section 37 is not defined in the statute, thereby widening the scope of judicial interpretation.

Section 436A of CrPC

Section 436A of the CrPC provides, “Where a person has, during the period of investigation, inquiry or trial under this Code of an offence under any law (not being an offence for which the punishment of death has been specified as one of the punishments under that law) undergone detention for a period extending up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence under that law, he shall be released by the Court on his personal bond with or without sureties.”
Section 436A also requires that no person shall be detained during the period of investigation, inquiry, or trial for more than the maximum period of imprisonment provided for the offence.

For Further notes on Bail, refer – https://optimizeias.com/bail/