Mumbai: Over 400 anticipatory bail pleas that have been gathering dust since last year in the sessions court have worried Principal Judge M L Tahalayani, who took charge after conducting trial in the 26/11 terror attack case.
According to court officials, when Judge Tahalayani took over as the principal judge in June this year there were 450 bail pleas pending.
"The disposal rates have now improved by at least 70 per cent. Of the 450 pleas, now only 104 cases are pending as of July end," the officials said.
Since August 1, the court has already received 73 fresh anticipatory bail pleas.
"Earlier Principal Judges used to assign anticipatory bail cases to different courts on rotation basis. So even before the case could be heard and disposed off it would be
shifted to a new court," a court official said.
Judge Tahalayani, recently observed in an open court, "Anticipatory bail pleas as old as early 2009 are still pending and they need to be disposed off immediately."
A person seeks anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case registered against him by the police.
"Usually an accused is granted interim bail until his anticipatory bail plea is decided. This causes unnecessary delay which also hampers investigation," public prosecutor R V
Kini said.
Bureau Report
