The Supreme Court will decide whether anticipatory bail requires a trip to the Sessions Court first or whether moving straight to the High Court is a possibility.
Supreme Court Reviews Bail
The court issued a ruling against the Kerala High Court‘s custom of examining anticipatory bail requests right away. It is impossible to record accurate facts without consulting the Sessions Court, according to a bench consisting of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
The Supreme Court has decided to examine whether visiting the Sessions Court first would be required or whether going to the High Court for anticipatory bail will still be a possibility. The Kerala High Court, which considers pleas for anticipatory bail directly, has also adopted similar approach, according to the supreme court.
Kerala HC Bail Practice
While considering a petition from two individuals contesting the Kerala High Court‘s decision to deny their request for anticipatory release, the Supreme Court issued this statement. According to the Supreme Court, the petitioners sought remedy from the High Court immediately rather than via the Sessions Court.
According to a panel of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, the Kerala High Court seems to have a pattern of considering anticipatory bail petitions without requiring the plaintiffs to appear in sessions court. The bench said that both the new BNS and the previous Code of Criminal mechanism have a mechanism for this.
Supreme Court Notices Kerala
Since the accused went straight to the High judge seeking anticipatory relief without first visiting the Sessions Court, the judge noted that appropriate facts could not be recorded. “We are inclined to analyze this aspect and resolve the matter as to whether the option to seek the High Court would rely on the decision of the party.
Through its Registrar General, the Supreme Court has sent a notice to the Kerala High Court on this matter. The judge postponed the case hearing till October 14 and named prominent counsel Siddharth Luthra as an amicus curiae to help with the case.