Yesterday’s report in this newspaper that one cannot seek anticipatory bail in Uttar Pradesh thanks to an archaic provision introduced during the Emergency of 1975 would have come as a surprise to many.
While on paper, the Allahabad high court may have ‘requested’ the UPA government to set aside political motives in speeding up the presidential nod to restore the provision of anticipatory bail in the state, the fine print clearly shows what the court thinks of the executive: ‘The executive must visualise that their dilly-dallying acts showing a lack of concern for the improvement of the justice system are costing heavy and hard on the entire system.’
Though one often sees the provision of anticipatory bail being misused by the high and mighty in high-profile cases, it cannot be denied that it is a crucial and essential part of the judicial process, especially in a country like ours, where cases can take months, if not years, to reach any kind of conclusion. Thus, while there is a clear need for checks and balances, there is no case for entirely doing away with the provision. In fact, it is shocking that such a situation has existed for 35-odd years in the country’s most populous state, which also happens to host one of the country’s most hallowed courts.
As the Supreme Court made it amply clear recently, ‘it can’t be ignored that bail is the rule and jail is the exception’. There is no reason why it must be any different for Uttar Pradesh’s citizens.
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