The Supreme Court in its landmarkjudgment of State of Rajasthan vs. Balchand alias Baliya (AIR 1977 2447) laiddown the legal doctrine, “Bail is a rule, jail is an exception”. This judgment was based on several rights that are guaranteed under the Constitution, with Article 21 being the foremost important one.
Bail: Meaning and Law
Bail which means a provisionalrelease of a detained person, who is accused of a criminal offense. As perBlack Law’s Dictionary Bail is contemplated as process to procure the release of a person from legal custody, by undertaking that he/she shall appear at the time and place designated and submit themselves to the jurisdiction and judgment of the court. Obtaining Bail during pending investigation or trial is considered as one of the important rights of the accused on ground of humanity and liberty. Moreover, this is backed with the fundamental approach of the law towards the accused which is innocent until proven guilty.
Thus, the right to seek bail underSection 167(2),436, 437 or 438 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is afundamental right and not merely a statutory right, which flows from Article 21 of the Constitution. It has been held every now and then by courts in India to be an indefeasible part of the right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
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Jail to be the new norm
In the recent legal scenario, it hasbeen seen that the Indian Legal jurisprudence has moved from jail as anexception to jail as a new norm. This shift has been discussed openly and deeply in recent cases involving celebrity figures including that of Aryan Kahan. But the real question that arises is that true? Is there an apparent shift from bail to jail? And the answer is inclined to a Strong Yes. In India, even after so many laws and judgments, it is seen that the jails in India are filled with accused who are waiting trial for years and have been in jail for more years that what they should have been, had they been convicted.
Not all are lucky as Aryan Khan or theother elite class who can afford good lawyers, people who were below povertyline could not pay the requisite bonds for bails and also cannot afford lawyers that can fight on their behalf to the truest sense and hence the judicial system fails to protect their rights.
Justice Chandrachud is categorical in his dicta where he saysthat 'It is a travesty of justice that many poor accused are forced into longcellular servitude for little offences because the bail procedure is beyond their meagre means... One reason why our legal and judicial system continually denies justice to the poor... is our highly unsatisfactory bail system.'
Conclusion
A perusal of multitude of cases and dictas together highlightthe strong and deficient Indian Criminal Justice system where in the courtshave tried to intervene and have also laid down guidelines to followed but nothing has been achieved. There is thus a strong need to review that bail system in the country keeping in mind the socio-economic condition of the citizens.