Applying for bail a fundamental right, says Allahabad high court

For them, the glorious dawn of the 75th year of Independence has lost the sheen of the ideals of freedom and the substance of the Republic’s promise,” the court observed

Observing that every prisoner has the fundamental right to file a bail application before the court without delay, the Allahabad High Court granted bail to a person who had been languishing in jail and could not approach the court as he belonged to an economically deprived class of citizenry and was abandoned by his near and dear ones after his imprisonment.

For representation

Making these observations, Justice Ajay Bhanot granted bail to one Anil Gaur alias Sonu, against whom a case of murder was registered at Neodiya police station of Jaunpur district, and was lodged in jail since December 6, 2017.

According to the counsel of the applicant, the applicant was not named in the FIR. “There is no direct evidence against the applicant and he had no motive to commit the murder. At best, it is a case of circumstantial evidence,” the counsel contended.

“The failure of justice in the said cases was occasioned by poverty, social exclusion, legal illiteracy, impersonal administration and denial of legal aid. Exactions of poverty are more severe than punishments in law. For them, the glorious dawn of the 75th year of Independence has lost the sheen of the ideals of freedom and the substance of the Republic’s promise,” the court observed.

“Justice is the birthright of a free people and our constitution says they shall have it,” the court remarked as it also took note of inordinate delays in the filing of many bail applications because the prisoners did not have access to legal aid.

The HC said the courts too have a duty to ensure that prisoners appearing in criminal proceedings have access to legal aid. They cannot remain mute spectators when legal aid is denied to prisoners.

The applicant in this case did not have access to legal aid to file his bail applications in a timely manner before the trial court as well as the high court. The counsel for the applicant submitted that the right of the applicant to legal aid is a fundamental right and also a statutory right vested by the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.

In its decision dated September 12, the high court found that the applicant was in jail since December 6, 2017. He was able to file a bail application before the trial court in 2019 i.e., after a delay of more than one year. The bail application was rejected on June 4, 2019 by the trial court at Jaunpur district. He could approach the high court for bail only in 2022 i.e., three years after the trial court refused him bail.