Court Orders Release of Convict on Personal Bond, Waiving Local Surety Requirement.
18 September 2024
Criminal Appeals & Suspension of Sentence >> Criminal Law
The case involves a petitioner convicted and sentenced to ten years, with a bail order passed on 03.05.2024, after the petitioner had already served nearly five years in custody. However, the petitioner has not been able to secure bail due to the inability to furnish a local surety. Ms. Neha Rathi, representing the petitioner, argued that this situation has led to undue delay in implementing the bail order, causing the petitioner to remain in prison.
She pointed out that the petitioner has already served seven years and one month in custody, based on the custody certificate from the Kolhapur Central Prison.
The court acknowledged the issue, noting that the petitioner’s inability to provide local surety should not prevent them from benefiting from the bail order. The court emphasized that continued detention under such circumstances violates the petitioner’s constitutional rights under Article 21. Consequently, the court directed that the petitioner be released on bail on their personal bond, without the requirement for a local surety, to comply with the previous bail order.
The interim application (I.A. No. 208763/2024) was disposed of with this order.