SC Judge Offer of Release on Personal Bond for Less Serious Offense

In a judicial initiative, Supreme Court Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul has proposed to the government to consider releasing undertrial prisoners involved in less serious crimes on personal bond. The initiative aims to reduce the burden of judicial proceedings and differentiate between more serious and less serious cases. If a person has completed one-third or 50 per cent of his sentence, he can be released without trial.

Addressing the 19th Legal Services Authority meeting, Justice Kaul, who chairs the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), emphasized that this approach would allow the judiciary to focus on more serious offences, ensure regularity of trials and appeals. Will avoid processes that often reach the top. court.

Justice Kaul also noted its limited success and looked forward to hearing the government’s response on how the matter could be addressed on the executive side.

He said that there should be such a judicial system where keeping criminals in jail is not a general rule but an exception. Justice Kaul, however, noted that the implementation of court decisions in the lower judiciary, prison authorities and law enforcement agencies can sometimes be incomplete.

To address this issue, NALSA has developed an e-Prison platform to digitize prison management. The platform facilitates speedy processing of pardon and bail applications by sending automated signals to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Secretary, if an undertrial prisoner is not released within seven days of the bail order.

Through the automation of records, scheduling, and communication between the judiciary and prisons, these efforts aim to preserve personal liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and promote a more efficient justice system.