In a significant ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court granted bail to two men accused of murder, both suffering from severe kidney ailments. The decision came in light of the recent death of a co-accused in jail due to kidney failure.
“What’s the issue with granting bail? One has already died. They’ve been imprisoned for a long time,” remarked the Court during the hearing.
A vacation Bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Visvanathan delivered the order, emphasizing the medical condition of the two accused and their prolonged incarceration since June 1, 2019.
Given the circumstances, the Bench directed the release of Arvind and Jai Prakash, both of whom had spent over five years in jail. The judges highlighted that the State’s medical reports confirmed their severe kidney ailments.
“Considering their medical condition and the fact that they have been in jail for more than five years, we are inclined to grant bail,” the Court stated.
The two men were charged under Sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
During the hearing, the State counsel suggested that instead of bail, the accused could receive better medical treatment at a private hospital. However, the Court dismissed this argument, opting for bail after reviewing the medical reports.
The appellants were represented by Advocates SR Setia, Pushkar Anand, Anurag Dubey, KB Upadhyay, Manmohan, Shailesh Tiwari, SN Tripathi, SD Mishra, and Kalpana. Representing the State of Uttar Pradesh were Advocate-on-Record Arup Banerjee and advocates Sri Ram Veluru and Prakash Sharma.
