Filing Of Multiple Bail Pleas No Ground To Deny Relief: Bombay HC The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court recently ruled that the mere filing of multiple bail applications cannot be used as a ground to deny relief. The court emphasized the constitutional right to a speedy trial and granted bail to a woman accused in a child abduction case. In an order delivered by Justice MM Nerlikar on Tuesday, the court rejected the trial court’s reasoning that repeated bail pleas contributed to delays. The court observed that the accused are exercising their statutory right and that this cannot justify continued incarceration. The petitioner, a woman accused in a child abduction case, had been in custody since November 11, 2022, in connection with a case registered at Kalamna police station in Nagpur. The case was registered under Sections 363, 369, 370, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, as well as provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The eight-month-old child was allegedly abducted by a co-accused known to the victim’s family. During the proceedings, defence counsel Mir Nagman Ali argued that the prolonged incarceration and delays in trial proceedings infringed the petitioner’s fundamental right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution. The prosecution, led by public prosecutor PC Bawankule, opposed the plea, attributing delays to the accused’s repeated applications for bail. The public prosecutor suggested expediting the trial, but the High Court found this argument untenable. The court referred to established constitutional principles and Supreme Court precedents, stating, “If the State has no wherewithal to provide a speedy trial, it should not oppose the plea for bail on the ground that the crime committed is serious.#bombay_high_court #nagpur_bench #mir_nagman_ali #pc_bawankule #kalamna_police_station
