Despite Supreme Court observations, bail is still difficult to get

Once got, the conditions imposed on the accused, even by the top court, remain stringent, to say the least

The Supreme Court judges have raised the alarm about indiscriminate arrests and the near-impossible chances of getting bail for undertrial prisoners in two separate fronts in a matter of a week.

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, speaking in Jaipur on July 16, urged the government to re-examine the criminal justice system.

On July 11, a Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh even suggested a new Bail Act itself to streamline and simplify the process.

However, words and judgments apart, bail is still tough to get, and once got, the conditions imposed on the accused, even by the Supreme Court, remain stringent, to say the least.

On July 8, Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair got interim bail from the top court in a case registered against him in Sitapur of Uttar Pradesh for a tweet.

Though bail was granted, the Bench imposed strict conditions. One of them was that he should not post "any tweets". The other that he "shall not tamper with any evidence, electronic or otherwise in Bengaluru or anywhere else".

The conditions hardly matched the fact that the top court's bail would not leave Mr. Zubair a free man.