The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an order of the Allahabad High Court that said fear of death due to the coronavirus disease could be a reason to grant anticipatory bail, Bar and Bench reported.
The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh government against the High Court’s order from May 10. The court said that the Allahabad High Court’s order should not be cited as a precedent while granting anticipatory bail and the courts must consider the merits of each case. “Sweeping directions have been made, we therefore direct the same to be stayed,” the bench added, according to PTI.
“Apprehension of an accused being infected with novel coronavirus before and after his arrest and the possibility of his spreading the same while coming into contact with the police, court and jail personnel or vice-versa can be considered to be a valid ground for grant of anticipatory bail to an accused,” the High Court ruled, adding that extraordinary times require extraordinary remedies.
The Allahabad High Court had passed the order while hearing the anticipatory bail petition of a man named Prateek Jain, who has 131 criminal cases against him. The High Court added:
“It is clear that the right to life is more precious and sacrosanct than the right to personal liberty which is sought to be protected by way of grant of anticipatory bail to an accused by the Court. If the right to life is not protected and permitted to be violated or imperiled, the right to personal liberty, even if protected by the Court, would be of no avail.
If an accused dies on account of the reasons beyond his control when he could have been protected from death by the Court, the grant or refusal of anticipatory bail to him would be an exercise in futility.”
— Allahabad High Court | Source: Live Law
The High Court had also cited the Supreme Court’s order from May 8 to release prisoners who were granted bail or parole last year in order to decongest jails in view of the coronavirus crisis, PTI reported.
The Uttar Pradesh Pradesh government, while challenging the order in the Supreme Court, said it implied offenders could commit crimes with impunity during the pandemic, which is unlikely to end in the near future, Bar and Bench reported.
The state government added: “Grant of anticipatory bail to the accused on the ground of his right to life and personal liberty has patently bent the scale of excessive rights towards the accused while overlooking the collective rights of the victims who seek justice for the wrongs committed by such accused persons”.
India has been battling a ferocious second wave of the coronavirus. On Tuesday, the country reported 1,96,427 new cases, taking the tally of infections to 2,69,48,874 since the pandemic first broke out in January 2020. This is the first time since April 15 that the single-day rise in cases has come under two lakh. The toll rose by 3,511 to 3,07,231.
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