Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Out of bounds: On the Supreme Court’s stand on bail conditions

Out of bounds: On the Supreme Court’s stand on bail conditions

Unusual or onerous (कष्टदायक, दुर्वह, दुर्भर) bail conditions ought to have no place in judicial (अदालती, न्यायालय-संबंधी) orders

The Supreme Court has struck the right note by voicing its stern (कठोर) disapproval of the tendency among some courts to impose (थोपना) unusual conditions for bail. In the case of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, the Allahabad High Court had granted interim (अन्तरिम) bail in a ‘land-grabbing’ case, but made regular bail contingent (आकस्मिक, सशक्तिकरण) on his fully cooperating with the measuring, walling and barb-wiring of a piece of property measuring 13.842 hectares. The allegation (आरोप) against him is that land vacated by a person who went to Pakistan at the time of Partition had been “grabbed” and a university built on it by a trust headed by him. However, in the interim bail order, the District Magistrate, Rampur, was asked to take possession of the property and, after putting up a boundary wall and barbed (कंटीले, कांटेदार) wire around it, deliver it to the Custodian (संरक्षक, अभिरक्षक, परिरक्षक), Evacuee/Enemy Property, Mumbai. The top court had taken exception to the proclivity (झुकाव, प्रवृत्ति, इच्छा) among some judges to venture beyond the confines of a given case and imposing conditions that went beyond what were necessary to ensure the presence or attendance of an accused during the trial. It is fairly well-established that conditions for grant of bail have specific objectives: preventing the accused from fleeing justice and precluding any scope for tampering with evidence (सबूत) or influencing witnesses. These objectives are usually secured by directing them to stay in a particular place and asking them to record their presence before a police officer or a court at a specified frequency. Courts are normally not expected to impose any condition that may impinge (To encroach or infringe) on other freedoms of the accused or be too onerous for compliance (अनुपालन, क़बूल, इजाज़त, अनुमति).

It is not uncommon for bail courts to add some unusual conditions in some cases. Being asked to do a spell of community service, apologising to victims, reading a moral treatise or chapters from Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography are some recent examples. In 2020, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had ordered a man accused of molesting a woman to visit the victim at home and agree to her tying a ‘rakhi’, a condition that appalled (Exercising judicious evaluation) the Supreme Court which denounced the attempt to convert a ‘molester’ into a ‘brother’ by judicial mandate (जनादेश). The top court’s restatement of its disapproval in yet another case ought to have a salutary effect on courts below. Similarly, unusually harsh oral observations and the inclusion of personal opinions in judicial orders are also not unknown. Examples are legion (A very large number) of judges wading into matters of religion and culture and making controversial remarks. While sharp observations, whether oral or part of detailed orders, can often help in conveying a sense of the judicial conscience (The inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s motives), their perfunctory (Performed merely as a routine duty) use in a manner that undermines (Lessen the effectiveness, power, or ability of, especially gradually or insidiously) public confidence in the court’s impartiality is best avoided. A judicial order can be trenchant (Expressing strong criticism or forceful opinions) and temperate (A place where the climate is never extremely hot or extremely cold) at the same time, and it needs no unusual condition or gratuitous obiter dictum (Any comment or observation made in passing) to prop up its reasoning.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Onerous (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कष्टदायक, दुर्वह, दुर्भर
English Meaning - Something that is being disliked because it is difficult or unpleasant.

2.Judicial (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अदालती, न्यायालय-संबंधी
English Meaning - About court proceedings.

3.Stern (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कठोर
English Meaning - Firm and uncompromising.

4.Impose (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - थोपना
English Meaning - Force (something unwelcome or unfamiliar) to be accepted or put in place.

5.Interim (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अन्तरिम
English Meaning - A temporary or provisional arrangement.

6.Contingent (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - आकस्मिक, सशक्तिकरण
English Meaning - Any one of the representative groups composing an assemblage.

7.Anthology (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - संकलन, पद्यावली, गद्यावली
English Meaning - A collection of writings by different authors published in one book.

8.Allegation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - आरोप
English Meaning - An assertion made with little or no proof.

9.Barbed (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कंटीले, कांटेदार
English Meaning - Characterized by pointed and biting criticism.

10.Custodian (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - संरक्षक, अभिरक्षक, परिरक्षक
English Meaning - A person entrusted with guarding or maintaining a property.

11.Proclivity  (Preposition)

Hindi Meaning - झुकाव, प्रवृत्ति, इच्छा
English Meaning - An inclination toward something.

12.Evidence (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - सबूत
English Meaning - Something that tends to prove or disprove something.

13.Compliance (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुपालन, क़बूल, इजाज़त, अनुमति
English Meaning - The act of complying with a desire.

14.Mandate (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - जनादेश
English Meaning - A command from a higher authority to a lower one.

15.Out of Bounds (Idiom)

Hindi Meaning - सीमा के बाहर
English Meaning - Outside of an established boundary within which normal activities are allowed.

16.Impinge (Verb)

English Meaning - To encroach or infringe.

17.Appalled (Adjective)

English Meaning - Exercising judicious evaluation.

18.Legion (Adjective)

English Meaning - A very large number.

19.Conscience (Noun)

English Meaning - The inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s motives.

20.Perfunctory (Adjective)

English Meaning - Performed merely as a routine duty.

21.Trenchant (Adjective)

English Meaning - Expressing strong criticism or forceful opinions.

22.Undermine (Verb)

English Meaning - Lessen the effectiveness, power, or ability of, especially gradually or insidiously.

23.Temperate (Adjective)

English Meaning - A place where the climate is never extremely hot or extremely cold.

24.Obiter Dictum (Noun)

English Meaning - Any comment or observation made in passing.