SC stays Raj HC order for not listing bail pleas during coronavirus lockdown

The Supreme Court Friday stayed the Rajasthan High Court's order which had directed its registry not to list cases like bail and applications for suspension of sentence in the category of "extreme urgent matters" during the country wide lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic.

A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Deepak Gupta, which heard the matter through video-conferencing, also issued notice on the plea challenging the March 31 order passed by a single judge bench of the high court.

The high court order had said that matters like bail and applications for suspension of sentence cannot be considered to be of "extreme urgency" at a time when there is complete lockdown in the country.

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The high court, which had passed the order while hearing a bail plea, had said that such matters would be listed after withdrawal of lockdown by the Centre.

It had observed that release of an accused or convict at the "cost of breaching the order of lockdown and at the cost of risking lives of many" cannot be considered to fall within the category of extreme urgent matter.

It had also noted that during Holi, Dussehra, Diwali and winter vacations ranging from few days to few weeks, bail pleas and applications for suspension of sentence were not taken up by the high court.

The high court had also referred to a report by DG Prisons, who had said there is no overcrowding in jails and inmates are regularly checked medically.

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