Dataram Singh Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr. (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court of India has strongly reiterated the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence that bail is the general rule and putting a person in jail is the exception. In a judgment delivered in the case of Dataram Singh Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr., the apex court underscored the need for a humane and judicious approach by judges when considering bail applications. The court’s observations came while granting bail to an accused who had not been arrested during the investigation period.
The bench granted leave to appeal and proceeded to address the core principles governing the grant or denial of bail in India. It began by emphasizing the “fundamental postulate of criminal jurisprudence” – the presumption of innocence. This principle dictates that an individual is considered innocent until proven guilty. While acknowledging that some specific offences under Indian law place a reverse onus on the accused, the court clarified that this does not undermine the general applicability of the presumption of innocence for other offences.
Building on this, the judgment firmly stated, “Yet another important facet of our criminal jurisprudence is that the grant of bail is the general rule and putting a person in jail or in a prison or in a correction home… is an exception.” The court expressed concern that this basic principle appears to have been overlooked in many instances, leading to an increasing number of individuals being incarcerated for prolonged periods, which it noted “does not do any good to our criminal jurisprudence or to our society.”
