In a first, single judge to hear bail pleas in SC

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 20

Faced with mounting pendency of around 60,000 cases, the Supreme Court has deviated from the norm of having Division Benches of two or three judges and decided to set up Single Judge Benches to hear and decide bail and transfer cases.

New rules provide for the top court to have judges sitting singly to finally decide cases of bail and anticipatory bail in cases involving maximum seven-year imprisonment under any law.

The changes have come at a time when the SC is going to have 34 judges for the first time since it came into existence in 1950. As on September 2, the SC had 59,616 cases awaiting adjudication and the amended rules providing for Single Judge Benches to take up bail and transfer matters is expected to improve the situation.

Once implemented, it will be for the first time that Single Judge Benches will function on regular basis as the old rules provided for Single Benches only during vacation.

Currently, order VI, rule 1 of “The Supreme Court Rules, 2013” states that cases shall be heard by a Bench of not less than two judges.

But now, ‘The Supreme Court (Amendment) Rules, 2019’ says Single Judge Benches may hear special leave petitions arising out of grant, dismissal or rejection of bail application or anticipatory bail application in the matters filed against the order passed under Section 437, 438 or 439 of the CrPC involving offences punishable with sentence up to seven-year imprisonment.

According to the amended rules, the CJI shall nominate a single judge for deciding petitions for transferring civil suits and criminal cases from one court to another under Section 25 of the CPC and Section 406 of the CrPC shall also be decided by Single Judge Benches.

The CJI can from time to time notify any other category of cases that may be heard and disposed of finally by a judge sitting singly nominated by him, the notification read. Some other minor procedural changes have also been effected in the rules.