Guwahati: Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Madan B. Lokur said on Tuesday that the courts in the country seem to have forgotten the basic principle of grant or refusal of bail.
He also termed the unwillingness of the judiciary to go through the details of probe agencies such as filing incomplete charge sheets and not providing documents as “most unfortunate.” The former judge said this in an interaction with PTI.
Lokur pointed out that the courts in the country should not be biased and suspicions arise when investigation gets dropped of a certain individual if he/she changes loyalties when it comes to politics.
In response to a query on denial of bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia, Justice Lokur said, “Generally speaking, the courts seem to have forgotten the basic principles of grant or refusal of bail. Nowadays, if a person is arrested, you can be rest assured that he will be in prison for a few months at least.”
He further adds, “The police first arrest the person, then start a serious investigation. An incomplete charge sheet is filed followed by a supplementary charge sheet and documents are not furnished. This is most unfortunate and what is troubling is that some courts are not willing to see through this.”
The judiciary needs to wake up to the realities of life as law books do not tell the whole story, justice Lokur said in response to a question as to how the judiciary should approach the issue of alleged misuse of investigative agencies by the government of the day both at the Centre and in states.
“The problem is that some courts do not apply these basic principles, although they know them. The question is, why?” he said.