Bailed prisoners must physically report to police stations
Allowing prisoners, who are on temporary bail, to appear before the police station of their vicinity, through video conferencing would result in many of them jumping bail, said the Bombay High Court on Tuesday. The HC, accordingly, dismissed a PIL, which urged it to allow prisoners, who have been enlarged on temporary bail in view of the pandemic, to attend police stations through VC.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Nizamoodin Jamadar opined that if such a prayer is allowed then the police might find it difficult to trace such prisoners.
The judges were dealing with a PIL filed by Geeta Jain, who urged the bench to allow video conferencing for prisoners to attend police stations.
Notably, thousands of prisoners have been released on temporary bail in view of the outbreak of coronavirus inside jails. While granting them bail, courts have imposed a condition for them to attend the nearest police station at least once in a month.
To avoid these prisoners physically appearing at police stations, Jain, through her PIL, urged the judges to do away with this system and let them appear through VC.
Having heard the contentions, CJ Datta said, "We are of the considered opinion that it would not be prudent on our part to make any order, as prayed."
The judges noted that with a view to decongest the prisons and thereby prevent spread of the virus, the High Powered Committee had determined categories of under-trial prisoners and convicts who could be released on interim bail for a temporary period or parole. "Based on such determination, those undertrial prisoners who satisfy the criteria for having an order of release on interim bail have knocked the doors of the appropriate court. We take judicial notice of the sessions courts as well as the magistrates being flooded with applications for release on temporary bail," the judges noted, adding that the prisoners, who have been given bail are invariably required to meet the jurisdictional Station House Officers once every thirty days.
"The petition seeks an order to sort of undo this arrangement. If indeed the physical presence is permitted to be dispensed with and an undertrial prisoner, so released for decongesting prisons, allowed to establish contact with the relevant Station House Officer using the facility of video call, the police could find it difficult to readily ascertain, in all cases, as to the location of such released undertrial prisoner, more particularly whether he is residing within its jurisdiction," the judges held.
The judges further said that if in case such a released under-trial prisoner violates the condition of bail of not leaving the jurisdictional limits of a particular police station and hides in unknown territory, "the police might face immense difficulties in tracing him out if he fails to surrender upon expiry of the temporary period of bail. We do not propose to introduce any such arrangement, the possible ills whereof could largely outweigh the intended benefits," CJ Datta said while dismissing the plea.