Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud has once again raised questions on the functioning of lower court judges. He said that not granting bail to the petitioner on important issues of crime seems very suspicious. The Chief Justice has emphasized that a ‘strong sense of common sense’ is required to look at the nuances of any case.
Questions raised on the functioning of lower courts
DY Chandrachud said, ‘People who should get bail from lower courts are actually not granted bail. Because of this, the petitioner has to knock the door of the High Court. Apart from this, people who should get bail from the High Court do not get bail there and because of this they have to file a petition in the Supreme Court. This delay causes trouble to those who have been arbitrarily arrested.’
The Chief Justice said these things in response to a question related to arbitrary arrests at the Berkeley Center. During the interaction, one person said, “We are living in a society where first someone commits an act and then apologizes. This is especially true when activists, journalists and opposition party leaders are arrested by civil organizations due to political motivation.” He further said that all such actions are done with the belief that justice will be delayed. In response to this, the CJI said, “We have to learn to trust those who are part of this legal system. We have to motivate the lower courts to take care of the concerns of those who are seeking bail.”
Emphasis on strong sense of common sense
The CJI further said, “The main problem today is that there seems to be a suspicious situation in the matter of relief given to someone by the judge of the lower courts. This means that in some serious criminal cases, bail is not granted to the petitioner by the judges of the lower courts. The Chief Justice mentioned that judges should look into details of every case and for this, a strong sense of common sense was necessary.
