In a notable judgment, the Supreme Court of India has expressed its discontent with a controversial decision by the Madhya Pradesh High Court regarding the suspension of a convict’s sentence. The apex court, led by Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, granted bail to a convict, emphasizing that the high court had created an unwarranted legal requirement.
The issue arose when the Madhya Pradesh High Court denied bail to a convict unless he had served half of his sentence, a condition that the Supreme Court found baseless. “We are surprised that the high court invented a new proposition of law that has no basis,” remarked the bench on April 17.
The Supreme Court highlighted that the high court should have adhered to existing laws rather than imposing arbitrary conditions on bail. It stressed that such legal inventiveness is unnecessary and unjust, especially when there is little chance of an appeal being heard soon due to the backlog of cases in high courts.
The case involved a man from whom tainted currency notes were recovered, with no satisfactory explanation provided for their possession, leading to his initial bail rejection. Despite this, the apex court criticized the rigid stance of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, stating that the petitioner should not have been forced to approach the Supreme Court for bail.
