Trial Courts directed to give complete details of criminal antecedents in bail orders: Rajasthan High Court
The High Court of Rajasthan, through learned judge, Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati in the case of Jugal v. State of Rajasthan (S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 13513/2020) directed Trial Courts to give complete details of criminal antecedents in bail orders
BRIEF FACTS: The petitioner was arrested in connection with an FIR registered at Sardarpura Police Station, District Jodhpur for the offences punishable under Section 392/34 of IPC. The petitioner approached the court for bail through bail application under Section 439 Cr.P.C. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that there was no criminal antecedent of the petitioner. Learned Public Prosecutor was not in a position to refute the aforesaid submission.
FINDINGS OF THE COURT: Having regard to the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case and also the fact that conclusion of the proceedings is likely to take time, the Court granted bail to the accused petitioner under Section 439 Cr.P.C. The court remarked “It is often seen by this Court that the learned courts below are not specific in regard to antecedents of the accused persons, which causes delay in the disposal of the bail applications, as, if the person is not having antecedents and his antecedents are called, receiving of such antecedents reports takes quite some time. Though the antecedent alone is not a ground of rejecting or accepting a bail, it is must that the Hon’ble High Court should have the antecedent report to check the applicability of Section 437 (1) of Cr.P.C. as well as to weigh the case of the accused person with the overall perspective of the allegations levelled.”
Thus Court dismissed the petition by directing that all learned trial courts, while allowing or disallowing any regular/anticipatory bail application of any accused person, should give the complete details of the antecedents, if any, and also record that there are no antecedents of the accused person in case of none being there. Similarly, If there are antecedents of the accused, then the complete details of the antecedents i.e. FIR Number(s) & Case Number(s), Section(s), date(s), status and date of arrest & release on any previous occasion, if any, in the chart form should be prepared and incorporated in the learned trial courts’ order, while granting or dismissing the bail application.
JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY – AMRUTHA K