India News | Can't Countenance Bail Application Not Getting Decided by HC for Two Years: SC

New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) The Supreme Court said on Tuesday it cannot countenance a bail plea pending before the Delhi High Court not getting decided for over two years on account of adjournments, mostly because the prosecution wants dates.

The apex court noted that the last order by the high court on the bail plea, filed in 2020 in a case registered under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, was passed on November 11 summoning the trial court record for consideration of the bail application.

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"We believe that it is not for us to tell the high court how to deal with the matters pending before them. However, we cannot countenance the position that more than 2 years a bail application is not decided and keeps on getting adjourned on most occasions because the prosecution wants dates," a bench of Justices S K Kaul and A S Oka said.

"A bail order is not like an appeal that the trial court record is fully to be seen before the bail is considered," the bench said in its order.

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It was hearing a plea filed by a man named Jeewan Mondal who said he has been compelled to approach the apex court as on filing a bail application before the high court, notice was issued on December 9, 2020 and the matter has not been decided for two years.

"Let the trial court record be summoned in digital format, considering the submissions made by counsel for the petitioner. List on January 18, 2023," the high court had said in its order passed on November 11.

The top court said it considers it appropriate that the order, along with the file pending before the high court, be placed before the Chief Justice of the high court for necessary consideration on this aspect.

The bench, while asking the registrar of the high court to submit a report, has listed the matter in the week in January when the court opens after the winter recess.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)