'People who should be getting bail...': CJI Chandrachud gives 'common sense' advice to trial court judges

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Sunday that trial court judges often choose to play it safe by not granting bail in significant criminal cases when there is a 'degree of suspicion.'

Emphasizing the need for 'robust common sense,' Chandrachud said, "People who should be getting bail in trial courts are not receiving it, forcing them to move to the high courts instead."

"People who should be getting bail in the high courts will not necessarily get it, as a result of which, they have to move to the Supreme Court. This delay compounds the problem of those who are facing arbitrary arrests," PTI quoted the CJI as saying.

During the '11th Annual Conference of the Berkeley Centre on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination,' a participant commented, "We seem to live in a society where one acts first and seeks forgiveness later. This has become particularly true for public authorities acting in a politically motivated manner by detaining activists, academics, journalists and even politicians, including the chief ministers of opposition parties."

CJI Chandrachud responded by saying that the Supreme Court has been trying to highlight that a major reason for this issue is the inherent distrust in the country's institutions.

"Unfortunately, the problem today is this, that we look at any grant of relief by trial judges with a degree of suspicion. That means that the trial judges increasingly are playing it safe, not granting bail on important issues of serious crimes," the CJI added.

"You (judges) have to have a sense of robust common sense. Now, unless we, therefore, separate the grains from the chaff in criminal jurisprudence, it's very unlikely that we will have just solutions and to allow for decision makers to separate the grain from the chaff, it's important that we also place a great deal of trust," Justice Chandrachud noted.