Overview
- At the Jaipur Literature Festival, the former chief justice set out three grounds to deny bail: risk of reoffending, flight risk, or evidence tampering.
- He warned that national-security statutes have eroded the presumption of innocence and said courts must test whether such claims are genuine and detention is proportionate.
- He referenced the Supreme Court’s January 5 order denying bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who remain in custody since 2020, while granting conditional bail to five other accused.
- He said that when trials cannot proceed expeditiously, Article 21 requires courts to grant bail so that incarceration does not become punishment.
- He flagged lower-court reluctance to grant bail, noted that the Supreme Court handled large volumes of bail pleas during his tenure, and proposed greater transparency in judicial appointments, including civil-society participation.