Pending trial, accused cannot be incarcerated for indefinite period as it violates fundamental rights: Bombay High Court

A person cannot be incarcerated for an indefinite period of time pending trial as it is violative of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India, the Bombay High Court said while granting bail to a man, accused in a double murder case.

A person cannot be incarcerated for an indefinite period of time pending trial as it is violative of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India, the Bombay High Court said while granting bail to a man, accused in a double murder case.

A single Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre on September 26 granted bail to Akash Satish Chandalia, arrested in September 2015 by the Lonavala police in Pune district on the charges of double murder and conspiracy.

The court in its order said a balancing act has to be struck between the gravity and seriousness of the charges, which the accused is facing, and the long time taken for conclusion of trial.

"The seriousness of an offence and its heinous nature may be one aspect, which deserves a consideration while exercising the discretion to release an accused on bail, but at the same time, the factor of long incarceration of an accused as under-trial prisoner also deserve its due weightage," the court said.

“Pending the trial, a person cannot be kept in custody for an indefinite period of time and it clearly violates the fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution, and time and again has been considered to be a justiciable ground to exercise the discretion to release an accused,” it added.

The court in its order noted that despite directions being issued to conclude the trial in a time-bound manner, it has not yielded any result and in such circumstances, there is no option but to release an accused on bail.