Punjab & Haryana HC adjourns bail plea over 12 times in two years; SC takes strong exception

Taking strong exception to the Punjab and Haryana High Court adjoining hearing on a bail application of the accused more than 12 times and delaying it for nearly two years, the Supreme Court has said that in matters of personal liberty, courts should be sensitive.

“It has been repeatedly observed by this court that in the matter of personal liberty, the courts should be sensitive and should not delay such matters nor grant frivolous adjournments. In the present case, we find that at the request of the complainant and State, the matter is adjourned for almost two years,” a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said.

Issuing notice on accused Jagtar Singh’s petition, the Bench posted the matter for hearing on August 19.

In its July 18 order, the top court also directed that a copy of its order be sent to the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for pacing it before the Chief Justice.

Initially, the top court was inclined to dismiss the petition. However, it decided to examine the issue after the petitioner’s counsel “pointed out that since August 2023, that is almost two years, the petition for bail is pending before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana and is being adjourned on more than a dozen occasion either at the instance of the complainant or the State.”

After perusing the complete order-sheet placed on record before it, the Bench noted that by the impugned order, the matter was again adjourned and the judge in question recused himself from hearing the matter and directed the case to be listed after obtaining orders from the Chief Justice of the high court.