SC relaxes order on listing of bail pleas before same judge

A bench of justices Bhushan R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran issued this clarification while hearing a case from Jharkhand, where bail applications of different accused persons under the same FIR were assigned to different high court benches.

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday modified its previous directive regarding the listing of all bail applications related to the same case before the same high court bench, acknowledging practical difficulties in implementing the order. The top court has now clarified that though bail applications arising from the same first information report (FIR) should ideally be placed before the same judge, any change in judicial rosters would not disrupt court proceedings. Instead, subsequent benches will be expected to give due consideration to previous orders to maintain consistency in bail decisions.

A bench of justices Bhushan R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran issued this clarification while hearing a case from Jharkhand, where bail applications of different accused persons under the same FIR were assigned to different high court benches. (ANI PHOTO)

A bench of justices Bhushan R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran issued this clarification while hearing a case from Jharkhand, where bail applications of different accused persons under the same FIR were assigned to different high court benches. The counsel for the petitioner contended that the development was in teeth of the Supreme Court’s previous orders in July 2023 and December 2023, requiring all bail matters from the same FIR to be heard by the same judge.

Even as the court acknowledged that this scenario could lead to conflicting orders, with some accused being granted bail while others were denied relief despite similar allegations, it realised that a blanket directive could be difficult to implement.

Judicial rosters change periodically, and judges who initially hear bail matters in single-judge benches may later be reassigned to division benches or different jurisdictions, noted the bench, adding that strict adherence to the earlier directive would have disrupted bench compositions and delayed bail proceedings.

The court’s July 31, 2023, order, issued by a three-judge bench led by justice Gavai, first emphasised the need for consistency in bail matters, particularly in the Allahabad high court, where cases from the same FIR were being placed before different judges. The lack of uniformity in bail decisions prompted the Supreme Court to direct that all such applications should be assigned to the same judge.

A two-judge bench reiterated this principle on December 12, 2023, extending the directive to all high courts. This bench also instructed its registrar (judicial) to circulate the directive to the registrar (judicial) of every high court for compliance.

In its order on Friday, the Supreme Court refined its stance. The bench acknowledged that while uniformity in bail decisions is critical, the practicalities of judicial roster changes must be taken into account. The revised order now states that, where possible, all bail applications arising from the same FIR should be placed before the same judge to ensure consistency. However, if the judge originally assigned to the case is moved to a different roster, subsequent benches must give due weightage to previous bail orders to maintain consistency. The order pointed out that obligating the same judge to hear all bail applications despite a change in roster would disrupt bench allocations and delay hearings.

The court’s clarification seeks to prevent situations where different benches issue contradictory rulings in the same case while avoiding procedural bottlenecks due to roster changes and maintaining the smooth functioning of high courts.