Supreme Court grants bail to man after noting delay by J&K High Court

Srinagar, Feb 28: The Supreme Court has granted bail to a man after noting that his bail plea had been pending before the High Court of J&K and Ladakh for over six months without a decision.

The apex court has granted bail to a man accused of being involved in a dowry death after it was informed that his bail plea had been pending before the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for months without a decision, reported Bar and Bench.

Justices BR Gavai, Rajesh Bindal and Sandeep Mehta observed that the accused (bail applicant) had been incarcerated in jail for almost eight years.

The Court also took into consideration the poor pace at which the criminal trial against him was proceeding. It proceeded to grant him bail despite the pendency of his bail plea before the High Court.

"The petitioner has been incarcerated in jail for a period of almost eight years. Taking into consideration this fact and the speed at which the trial is proceeding, we are inclined to grant bail in spite of the pendency of the matter before the High Court", the February 26 order stated.

The bail applicant had approached the Supreme Court with a grievance that his bail plea had been pending before the High Court for over six months without a decision.

When the matter was first heard by the top court, it was informed that the bail plea had been pending before the High Court since May 2023.

On January 30, 2024, the Supreme Court had directed the High Court to decide on the bail plea as soon as possible.

"We fail to appreciate the speed at which the High Court is dealing in the matter pertaining to the personal liberty of a citizen. The bail matter ought to be decided as expeditiously as possible," the top court had said in its January 30 order.

However, the bail plea remained pending before the High Court. Whereas the matter was listed before the High Court on February 23, it could not be taken up due to paucity of time and was adjourned.

In view of this, the Supreme Court proceeded to decide on the bail plea and allowed the accused man's release on bail.