Liberty Of Citizen Is Of Paramount Importance, Says Supreme Court
NDTV
The top court was hearing a plea filed by an accused who had challenged a March 30, 2023 Bombay High Court order disposing of his bail application while permitting him to file such a plea before the trial court.
The liberty of a citizen is of paramount importance and not deciding a matter pertaining to it expeditiously will deprive a person of the precious right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has said.
Observing that Article 21, which deals with protection of life and personal liberty, is the "soul" of the Constitution, the top court recently said it has come across various matters from the Bombay High Court where bail or anticipatory bail applications are not being decided expeditiously.
"We have also come across numerous matters wherein the judges are not deciding the matter on merits but find an excuse to shunt the case on different grounds," a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta said in a February 16 order.
