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‘Be more practical’: SC nudges UP govt, Allahabad HC to reduce appeal pendency
The Supreme Court said the pendency of 1,83,000 criminal appeals before the high court in Uttar Pradesh “are astronomical figures”.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday described the pendency of 1.83,000 criminal appeals in the high court of Allahabad and its Lucknow bench as “astronomical” and nudged the court administration and the Uttar Pradesh government to look at ways to remedy the situation.
“These are astronomical figures. We would like the high court to iron out the issues causing the pendency. We don’t think this kind of a problem exists in any other high court,” a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy said on Wednesday.
The bench, which has been hearing bail petitions of 18 life convicts who have spent over 10 years in jail in Uttar Pradesh, on July 26 sought broad parameters to expedite bail hearings in cases where the appeals have been pending for a long duration. Only one among the 18 has undergone a jail sentence of fewer than 10 years.
On Wednesday, the judges said they wanted some norms to be laid down to ensure the period spent behind bars can be considered while ruling on bail pleas.
“These matters are coming to us only because the appeals are not being heard for decades together. People can’t be in jail for such a long time,” the bench observed.
Uttar Pradesh additional advocate general Garima Parshad echoed the state’s reservations on a proposal suggested by the high court for release of prisoners who have served 10 years in jail.
Parshad said there were 7,214 convicts serving time who have been in jail for 10 years or more.
“If this bracket is taken, more than 7,000 convicts will be released. A large number of such convicts are hardened criminals, rapists, repeat offenders, kidnappers, massacre, more than three murders, habitual criminals who do not deserve to be released on bail.”
The two-judge bench asked the government to look at it from a “different angle”.
“More than 7,000 persons are crowding your jails. They may be people who have had no parole. You can always segregate the cases of hardened criminals or others by specifying categories. Be more practical, this will ultimately decongest your jails,” the top court said. It added that the high court can devise a policy to be adopted for this purpose since it would be difficult for the Supreme Court to prescribe a uniform policy for all high courts.
Senior advocate Viraj Datar who appeared for some of the 18 convicts told the court that most convicts have spent a minimum of 10 years in jail. He complained that some of the parameters suggested by the UP government were more onerous compared to the probation rules which entitle a prisoner for early release on good conduct.
Datar also underscored that UP did have a sentence review board to consider the premature release of prisoners who have served 14 years but this is hardly done. The UP government rebutted this charge, insisting that lawyers of convicts had to share the blame since they sought adjournment by filing bail pleas.
Once bail is granted, some convicts are untraceable, Garima Parshad added.
The bench, however, did not appear convinced that the government was doing enough.
“What prohibits the state from classifying the prisoners and releasing them on parole. A person cannot remain a habitual criminal after 15 years in jail. People who have resources move for bail. There may be several within the 10-year category who cannot afford the resources and have not been once out on parole.”
The bench asked the UP government to take proactive action, including the processing of remission applications of eligible prisoners without waiting till September 22, the next date of hearing.
The top court also took the Allahabad high court on board and asked them to independently consider the suggestions given by the state and the petitioners. Once the process of hearing bail pleas of life convicts is ironed out, the court said it intends to remit the pending pleas of the 18 convicts to the high court.
