Personal Liberty Of Accused Or Convict Is Fundamental: Kerala High Court
NDTV
Kerala High Court said the principle that bail is the rule and jail is the exception was recognised in many judicial pronouncements.
Personal liberty of an accused or convict is fundamental, suffering lawful eclipse only in terms of procedure established by law, the Kerala High Court said while granting bail to three forest officials, facing charges of custodial torture of an accused in the Idamalayar elephant poaching case.
Justice K Babu, while granting bail to an Indian Forest Service (IFS) couple and a forest department officer, Vijayananthan, said the issue of bail is one of liberty, justice, and public safety which insists that a developed jurisprudence of bail is integral to a socially sensitized judicial process.
The case was registered by the police against the officials in 2016 after an accused in an elephant poaching case filed a complaint that he suffered custodial torture.
"After all, the object of bail is neither punitive nor preventative. Deprivation of liberty must be considered a punishment unless it is required to ensure that an accused will stand his trial when called upon," the court said in its order recently.
