The Supreme Court on Monday expressed concern over what it termed a “regular practice” in the Kerala High Court of entertaining anticipatory bail pleas directly, without litigants first approaching the sessions court.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed that this deviation from the procedural hierarchy mandated under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and its successor, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), was unusual and not followed in other high courts.
“One issue which is bothering us is that in the Kerala high court there seems to be a regular practice that it accepts anticipatory bail directly without the litigator approaching the sessions court first. Why is that so? There is a hierarchy provided by CrPC or BNSS. I am not commenting on the present case, but as a matter of principle…it doesn’t happen in any High Court,” the bench remarked.
To examine the systemic issue, the apex court appointed senior advocate Sidharth Luthra as amicus curiae and sought a detailed response from the registrar general of the Kerala High Court.
The bench also noted that bypassing the trial courts could prevent crucial factual details from being placed on record. “We are inclined to consider this aspect and decide the issue whether the High Court would be at the choice of the party or it should be mandatory that the accused should first approach the sessions court,” it observed.
The matter arose while hearing a petition filed by Mohammed Rasal C, an accused in a rape case involving a minor. His anticipatory bail plea had earlier been rejected by the Kerala High Court in March. The Supreme Court will take up the case again on October 14.
