Govt mulls law for clarity on bail norms, says 'all not well'

New Delhi, Sep 16: Government is contemplating a comprehensive Bail Act clearly defining the conditions for grant of relief to the accused so as to no longer leave it to the discretion of courts.

In an internal note to the Law Secretary suggesting statutory norms for grant of bail, Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has said that "all is not well with the way cases relating to grant of bail are being handled" and while those with resources are able to secure relief, "the poorer lot languish in jails".

He has suggested the need to examine the desirability of having a separate Bail Act under a "major revamp" of the bail system. Law Secretary P K Malhotra has referred the matter to the Law Commission requesting it to submit a report within six months.

The law panel advices government on complex legal issues. Gowda said though the judiciary adopts a very elaborate procedure to deal with matters related to grant of bail, "still the system has the general perception among people that grant or denial is highly unpredictable...the bail system is linked inextricably to property and financial well-being of the accused, meaning thereby that accused persons with means."

Noting that there is a "growing dissatisfaction among public about the system of grant of bail", he said though grant of bail is a uniform and reasonable provision in theory, "in practice it does not prove to be so."

"Rather, it has a crude effect on the undertrials and hence the system of grant of bail has come under severe criticism from a cross-section of society. Therefore, the bail system as it is practiced in India may have to be studied in detail and major revamp may have to be brought in," the minister wrote.

The move comes close on the heels of controversy over bail to actor Salman Khan. The Bombay High Court had in May suspended his 5-year sentence in the 2002 hit-and-run case and granted him bail pending his appeal against conviction.

This had trigged a debate on how influential people manage bail but the poor and underprivileged continue to languish in jail. The legal fraternity was also divided on the issue.

PTI