SC dismayed over MP HC's bail refusal, says 'You Invented New Law'

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has criticised a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that required convicts to serve half their sentence before their plea for suspension of sentence could be considered. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to a convict, emphasising that bail should be granted if appeals against convictions are unlikely to be heard soon due to the heavy backlog of cases in high courts.

"We are surprised that the high court invented a new proposition of law that has no basis," the bench said on April 17.

The top court said the high court should have applied the law as it exists, and the petitioner should not have been forced to move before it for bail.

The high court order said, "In view of the fact that tainted currency notes have been recovered from the pocket of pants of the appellant and there is no explanation for the same, no case is made out for the grant of suspension of sentence and grant of bail. It added, "A second application has been filed... just less than two months after the rejection of the first application. Accordingly, it is clarified that the appellant may revive his prayer for suspension of sentence after undergoing half of the jail sentence, including remission."

The Supreme Court has criticised the practice of trial courts and high courts denying bail in cases involving minor infractions, despite its repeated rulings advocating a more lenient approach.

(inputs from PTI)