{"id":239924,"date":"2020-11-30T15:22:34","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T09:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=239924"},"modified":"2020-12-12T13:34:24","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T08:04:24","slug":"law-should-not-become-a-ruse-for-targeted-harassment-sc-reminds-courts-of-their-duty-to-ensure-human-liberty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/11\/30\/law-should-not-become-a-ruse-for-targeted-harassment-sc-reminds-courts-of-their-duty-to-ensure-human-liberty\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Law should not become a ruse for targeted harassment’; SC reminds Courts of their duty to ensure human liberty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supreme Court: <\/strong>In a case where the Bombay High Court failed to \u00a0to evaluate even prima facie of the most basic issue thereby refusing bail to the accused, the bench of Dr. DY Chandrachud* <\/strong>and Indira Banerjee, JJ has reminded the High Courts and District Courts of their duty to ensure human liberty. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the judgment running into 55-pages, here is what the Court said:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fair Investigation<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The public interest in ensuring the due investigation of crime is protected by ensuring that the inherent power of the High Court is exercised with caution. That indeed is one \u2013 and a significant – end of the spectrum. The other end of the spectrum is equally important: the recognition by Section 482 of the power inhering in the High Court to prevent the abuse of process or to secure the ends of justice is a valuable safeguard for protecting liberty.<\/p>\n

The need to ensure the fair investigation of crime is undoubtedly important in itself, because it protects at one level the rights of the victim and, at a more fundamental level, the societal interest in ensuring that crime is investigated and dealt with in accordance with law. On the other hand, the misuse of the criminal law is a matter of which the High Court and the lower Courts in this country must be alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cCourts should be alive to both ends of the spectrum \u2013 the need to ensure the proper enforcement of criminal law on the one hand and the need, on the other, of ensuring that the law does not become a ruse for targeted harassment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Procedural hierarchy of Courts <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The procedural hierarchy of courts in matters concerning the grant of bail needs to be respected. The High Court has the power to protect the citizen by an interim order in a petition invoking Article 226. Where the High Court has failed to do so, the Supreme Court would be abdicating its role and functions as a constitutional court if it refuses to interfere, despite the parameters for such interference being met.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doors of this Court cannot be closed to a citizen who is able to establish prima facie that the instrumentality of the State is being weaponized for using the force of criminal law. Our courts must ensure that they continue to remain the first line of defense against the deprivation of the liberty of citizens. Deprivation of liberty even for a single day is one day too many. We must always be mindful of the deeper systemic implications of our decisions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Emphasizing on the role of the district judiciary, which provides the first point of interface to the citizen, the Court said,<\/p>\n

\u201cOur district judiciary is wrongly referred to as the “subordinate judiciary\u2018. It may be subordinate in hierarchy, but it is not subordinate in terms of its importance in the lives of citizens or in terms of the duty to render justice to them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

High Courts get burdened when courts of first instance decline to grant anticipatory bail or bail in deserving cases. This continues in the Supreme Court as well, when High Courts do not grant bail or anticipatory bail in cases falling within the parameters of the law. The consequence for those who suffer incarceration are serious. Common citizens without the means or resources to move the High Courts or this Court languish as undertrials. Courts must be alive to the situation as it prevails on the ground \u2013 in the jails and police stations where human dignity has no protector. As judges, we would do well to remind ourselves that it is through the instrumentality of bail that our criminal justice system\u2019s primordial interest in preserving the presumption of innocence finds its most eloquent expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cTasked as we are with the primary responsibility of preserving the liberty of all citizens, we cannot countenance an approach that has the consequence of applying this basic rule in an inverted form. We have given expression to our anguish in a case where a citizen has approached this court. We have done so in order to reiterate principles which must govern countless other faces whose voices should not go unheard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Data reflecting pending Bail applications in High Courts and District Courts across India<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Noticing that 15,54,562 bail applications are currently pending in High Courts and District Courts across India<\/span><\/strong>, the Court said that<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chief Justices of every High Court should in their administrative capacities utilize the ICT tools which are placed at their disposal in ensuring that access to justice is democratized and equitably allocated. Liberty is not a gift for the few. Administrative judges in charge of districts must also use the facility to engage with the District judiciary and monitor pendency.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[Arnab Manoranjan Goswami v. State of Maharashtra, 2020 SCC OnLine SC 964<\/b><\/a>, decided on 27.11.2020]<\/p>\n

\n

*Justice Dr. DY Chandrachud has penned this judgment. Read more about him here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also read: Anvay Naik Suicide|High Court abdicated it\u2019s duty by failing to make prima facie evaluation of FIR. Here\u2019s why SC granted interim bail to the accused<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

SC grants interim bail to 3 accused in Anvay Naik suicide case. Calls Bombay HC order erroneous<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cLiberty survives by the vigilance of her citizens, on the cacophony of the media and in the dusty corridors of courts alive to the rule of (and not by) law. Yet, much too often, liberty is a casualty when one of these components is found wanting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":239471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,9],"tags":[44022,44054,40876,2664,12731,8841,3067,44228,20531,44273,35585,44055,25364,44274],"class_list":["post-239924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-supremecourt","tag-alleged-suicide-case","tag-anavy-naik","tag-arnab-goswami","tag-Bail","tag-district-courts","tag-fair-investigation","tag-FIR","tag-hierarchy-of-courts","tag-high-courts","tag-human-liberty","tag-interim-protection","tag-kumud-naik","tag-liberty","tag-role-of-courts"],"yoast_head":"\n'Law should not become a ruse for targeted harassment'; SC reminds Courts of their duty to ensure human liberty | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/11\/30\/law-should-not-become-a-ruse-for-targeted-harassment-sc-reminds-courts-of-their-duty-to-ensure-human-liberty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Law should not become a ruse for targeted harassment'; SC reminds Courts of their duty to ensure human liberty\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cLiberty survives by the vigilance of her citizens, on the cacophony of the media and in the dusty corridors of courts alive to the rule of (and not by) law. 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Oka, JJ has directed that the accused be\u00a0released\u00a0on post-\u00adarrest\u00a0bail\u00a0by\u00a0the\u00a0trial\u00a0Court. Asim Bhattacharya was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7-1.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":360913,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/09\/20\/high-court-must-avoid-indefinite-adjournments-in-disposal-of-bail-applications-sc\/","url_meta":{"origin":239924,"position":3},"title":"High Courts must dispose of pending bail applications within 2 months from date of filing; Avoid indefinite adjournments: Supreme Court","author":"Sucheta","date":"September 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cIn matters concerning liberty, bail courts must be sensitive and ensure that constitutional ethos is upheld. While docket explosion remains a chronic challenge, cases involving personal liberty deserve precedence\u201d.","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"disposal of bail applications","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/disposal-of-bail-applications.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/disposal-of-bail-applications.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/disposal-of-bail-applications.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/disposal-of-bail-applications.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":307510,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/11\/20\/transit-anticipatory-bail-high-courts-sessions-courts-can-grant-pre-arrest-bail-fir-registered-different-state-supreme-court\/","url_meta":{"origin":239924,"position":4},"title":"[Transit anticipatory bail] High Courts, Sessions Courts can grant pre-arrest bail, even if FIR is registered in different State: Supreme Court","author":"Apoorva","date":"November 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Supreme Court warned against forum shopping and clarified that accused cannot travel to any other State, solely for filing bail pleas without clear reasons.","rel":"","context":"In "Hot Off The Press"","block_context":{"text":"Hot Off The Press","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/news\/hot_off_the_press\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Transit anticipatory bail","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Transit-anticipatory-bail.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Transit-anticipatory-bail.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Transit-anticipatory-bail.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Transit-anticipatory-bail.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":247672,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/04\/26\/gangster-previously-prosecuted-in-15-cases-gets-bail-in-a-murder-case-supreme-court-sets-aside-allahabad-high-court-order\/","url_meta":{"origin":239924,"position":5},"title":"Gangster previously prosecuted in 15 cases gets bail in a murder case! 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