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Justice Ajay Bahnot of the Allahabad High Court, in a recent case, Ajeet Chaudhary v. State of U.P and Anr., noted the concerns of the parties who submitted that there were certain irregularities in proceedings of the bail application, and it appeals under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act) leading to inconsistency and uncertainty in the procedure for hearing the application and the time taken to do so. Noting these concerns, he laid down certain guidelines governing the procedure for producing a bail application or an appeal before the court and timely delivery of the notice to the victim.
Observing that the constitution of India provides its citizens with a right to bail, it was observed that indefinite time periods taken to decide a bail application is violative of Article 14 and 21 since such acts directly affect the life and liberty of a person. Noting that a person’s liberty is a precision constitutional value, the court also noted the amendment of the Allahabad High Court Rules, wherein the time period of notice of bail was reduced to 2 days from the initial 10 days.
Labeling this change as a necessary change in law, the court read down the provisions of Section 15A of the SC/ST Act which though provided for a “right to reasonable, accurate and timely notice of any Court proceeding” to the victim, did not lay a specific timeline for the same. Hence, in the present case, the court laid down an elaborate timeline within which a bail application must be presented before the court and a notice of the same must be presented to the victim.
Effective from 1st May 2021, the provisions mentioned below are to be followed for bail application and appeals under the SC/ST Act:
Other alternative provisions for certain exceptional cases where there is a failure to adhere to the set time period have also been mentioned in the order. Additionally, the court also directed the formation of a State Level Committee to review and study the implementation and effectiveness of these procedures in order to make appropriate adjustments.
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