CJI flags fear that jail is becoming the rule in district courts

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Saturday flagged the rising apprehension that right to personal liberty is losing ground in trial courts, with jail, and not bail, becoming the rule.

The Chief Justice said there is a growing reluctance on the part of trial judges to grant bail. This was evident from the increasing number of bail appeals reaching the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

“The longstanding principle that ‘bail is the rule, jail is the exception’ seems to be losing ground… This trend warrants a thorough re-evaluation,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said in his address at the All India District Judges Conference held at Kachchh in Gujarat.

The CJI’s remarks came even as the Supreme Court record on grant of bail has remained uneven. Student activist Umar Khalid chose to withdraw his bail application following multiple adjournments. The court had rejected bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Chief Justice Chandrachud also highlighted the “adjournment culture” in courts. Adjournments, which were never intended to be commonplace, have become normalised within the judicial process, the CJI noted.

“This culture of adjournments can effectively suspend time within a case, prolonging the agony of litigants and perpetuating the cycle of backlog,” the CJI said.

Delays are such that a farmer involved in a property dispute may never see the outcome in his lifetime.

“We should not wait for our citizens to die for their case to be decided by a court of law. Imagine a victim of sexual assault whose case remains unresolved in the courts for several years. Isn’t this a clear violation of their fundamental right to access justice?” the Chief Justice asked.

The Chief Justice advised the district judiciary against using gender-stereotypical language that work to perpetuate systemic inequalities and contribute to the marginalisation of women within the legal system.

Chief Justice Chandrachud also highlighted that women now constitute 36.3% of the working strength of the district judiciary even as there is “staggering” vacancy rates for the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which constitute 66.3% of the total unfilled posts.