Bombay High Court urges lower courts to be prompt with pre-arrest bail cases to protect citizens’ liberty

Bombay High Court urges lower courts to be prompt in resolving anticipatory bail applications to safeguard the liberty of citizens

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday (August 27, 2024) urged lower courts to be prompt in resolving anticipatory bail applications to safeguard the liberty of citizens. The High Court expressed displeasure over the slow handling of a pre-arrest bail petition by a sessions court in Kalyan in Thane district of Maharashtra.   

A single Bench of Judge Sandeep V. Marne was hearing an appeal filed by Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) leader Waman Mhatre, who approached the High Court with grievances, claiming that the sessions court was neither hearing his pre-arrest bail plea that was filed on August 22, 2024 nor granting him interim protection in the case. He also claimed that the sessions court had adjourned his plea on multiple occasions and had scheduled a hearing on August 29, 2024.  

The Shiv Sena leader is accused of making derogatory remarks against a woman journalist during the recently held protests in Thane district’s Badlapur region over the sexual abuse of two girl children in kindergarten. Mr. Mhatre was booked on Thursday (August 22, 2024) under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. On approaching the sessions court seeking anticipatory bail, he said that the court had overlooked his application, which had prompted him to appeal to the High Court for relief. 

Disposing of the appeal as the sessions court is yet to take a decision in the matter, Justice Marne directed the Kalyan sessions court judge to decide Mr. Mhatre’s application on August 29 itself and submit a report by the same evening. 

“If lower courts do not decide such matters, then the High Court is burdened with such matters. They should decide. The problem is that a decision is not taken. When the question of liberty of citizens is involved, it is necessary that anticipatory bail application is taken up for decision and decided, either finally or at least for grant of interim protection in expeditious manner. A report about the status of the anticipatory bail application shall be placed by the sessions judge before the Registry Department of High Court on the evening of August 29 itself,” Justice Marne observed.   

The Assistant Public Prosecutor submitted that the reason the sessions court had to adjourn the hearing was because the woman journalist, the complainant in the case, had sought time to respond to Mr. Mhatre’s application. The public prosecutor also assured the political leader that the police would not take any coercive action against him until the final decision was taken by the sessions court.