Top court warns against interfering in bail orders

THE APPEAL, FILED BY COMPLAINANT IN A CHEATING CASE, SOUGHT TO OVERTURN ORISSA HC'S OCTOBER 2024 DECISION GRANTING BAIL TO THE ACCUSED

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has delivered a strong message on judicial consistency, cautioning that it cannot "preach one thing and practice another" when dealing with bail orders.

Observing that interfering with bail orders without strong justification would undermine the principle that "bail is the rule, jail the exception," the top court emphasised the need to align its actions with its own established jurisprudence.

"Every day, we have been saying that high courts and other courts are reluctant in granting bail. If this court starts interfering in all such cases now, we will be preaching one thing and doing something else," remarked a bench of justices Bhushan R Gavai and AG Masih on Monday, while dismissing a plea challenging an Orissa high court order.

The appeal, filed by the complainant in a cheating case, sought to overturn the high court's October 2024 decision granting bail to the accused. The Supreme Court, however, upheld the high court's ruling, emphasising that there were no "compelling reasons" or instances of perversity warranting intervention.