In a sharp rebuke on Monday (July 1), the Supreme Court derided a baffling bail condition set by the Patna High Court, which mandated that the victim must act as the surety for the accused. This peculiar stipulation led to the accused languishing in jail for a year despite a bail order.
The vacation bench, comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan, expressed their dismay over this bizarre requirement, which had prevented the petitioner’s release since July 2023.
“It is disheartening that due to such unreasonable conditions, the petitioner remains imprisoned despite being granted bail a year ago,” the Court noted.
The case centers on an FIR filed on January 26, 2023, against the petitioner for allegedly procuring a minor girl with shared intent (Sections 366A and 34 of the IPC). The High Court’s order on July 25, 2023, imposed the contentious bail condition, prompting the petitioner to seek its modification. However, the High Court rejected this request on January 12, 2024.
The Supreme Court has now stayed the High Court’s bail conditions and scheduled further hearings for four weeks later.
