Democracy can never be a police state

Democracy can never be a police state': Supreme Court stresses importance of bail, issues guidelines to prevent unnecessary arrests and remands

 The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, stressed the importance of the "bail no jail" rule and issued several guidelines to prevent unnecessary arrests and remands.  The judgment given by the bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice MM Sundaresh in the case of Satendra Kumar Antil vs Central Bureau of Investigation acknowledged that jails in India are flooded with undertrial prisoners.

 The judgment said, "Prisons in India are flooded with undertrials. The figures placed before us show that more than 2/3rd of the prison inmates are undertrials. The majority of prisoners in this category have been convicted of a cognizable offence.  There may also be no need to arrest despite registration those who have been accused of crimes punishable for seven years or less. They are not only poor and illiterate, but also include women. Thus, many of them  "Inherited a culture of crime."

 Case Title: Satendra Kumar Antil vs Central Bureau of Investigation.  2022 (sc) 577