Bail must be rule if trial not expeditious: Ex-CJI Chandrachud

Bail should be the rule if an expeditious trial proves impossible in a case, former chief justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Sunday while commenting on the repeated denial of bail to activist Umar Khalid, who has remained in jail since September 2020 without trial.

- Senjuti Sengupta

The former CJI was speaking in conversation with journalist Vir Sanghvi during a session titled “Ideas of Justice” at the 19th Jaipur Literary Festival.

“Bail, before the constitution, should be a matter of right. Our law is founded on one presumption that every accused is innocent until they are proven guilty at a trial. Pretrial detention cannot be a form of punishment. If a person is jailed for five to seven years before trial and then is acquitted finally, how would you compensate for that lost time?” he said.