Plea pending for 2 months, Supreme Court grants bail in death case

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, February 28

The Supreme Court has granted bail to a man accused of involvement in a dowry death case after being told that his bail plea had been hanging fire in the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for months.

“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,” a three-judge Bench led by Justice BR Gavai said on Monday, ordering the release of accused Arjun Kattal who has been in jail for several years.

“The petitioner is directed to be released on bail in connection with FIR No.35/2015 dated 28.03.2015 registered with P.S. Domana, District Jammu, to the satisfaction of the Trial Court,” it ordered.

As the matter is pending before the High Court since May, 2023, the top court had on January 30, 2024, requested the High Court to consider the matter expeditiously.

However, in spite of pendency of the matter before the high court, the Bench decided to entertain the petition directly after being informed that it could not be taken up on February 23.

“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 Bench had commented on January 30.