Pass detailed orders, High Court to sessions judges

SPEEDY DISPOSAL OF BAIL APPLICATIONS

BY Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, September 10: In order to streamline the crimil justice system, Gauhati High Court Chief Justice (acting) K. Sreedhar Rao has directed judges of sessions courts to pass detailed orders while disposing off bail applications.

"While disposing off bail applications, the sessions judges should, in all detail, incorporate the materials collected during the investigation, and these should be made part of the case diary as on the date when he scrutinizes the case diary, so that it would facilitate the state public prosecutors at the High Court to find out if any further materials are collected by the investigating agency for effectively filing objections to the bail application," Justice Rao said in his order.

The court observed that this procedure, if adopted, would reduce the delay in disposing off bail applications and also mitigate the unnecessary hardship caused to investigating officers to bring the case diaries from different parts of the State to the High Court.

The court found that in almost every case, the case diary is called for. "Such a practice does not appear to be a just and proper course for adjudicating the bail applications. A short date of two or three days, after notice, be granted to the public prosecutors for filing objections," the order said.

The public prosecutors, while filing objections, have been directed to take proper instructions from investigating officers regarding the progress of the investigation and incorporate all those details in the objection statement.

This year till date, 1,401 bail applications have been filed at the High Court by people in custody. Further, as many as 2,715 anticipatory bail applications have been filed in the High Court till date.  At present as per roster, a single judge is entrusted to adjudicate on the bail applications.

On Thursday, as many as 10 fresh regular bail applications and 11 anticipatory bail applications, 57 bail applications for hearing, 19 crimil revision petitions and 3 transfer applications were listed in the cause list. Moreover, there are about 25 cases listed for hearing before the Crimil Single Bench-I. 

The Gauhati High Court has a strength of 24 Judges and at present 17 Judges are functioning. They also have to look after the outlying benches of the High Court at Kohima, Aizwal and Itagar.