New Delhi: Government has requested the Chief Justices of the High Courts to grant bail to the undertrials who could be released on such an arrangement, an
RTI reply has said.
Although, the government does not interfere in the working of judiciary, such a recommendation is understood to have been prompted by overcrowding of jails.
The government, in an RTI response received by activist Subhash Agrawal, said, "It may be mentioned that grant of bail to accused/undertrials is within the domain of the courts.
"The government does not interfere in the functioning of the courts. The courts frame their own rules and procedures and decide the case based on the law of land.
"However, the government has requested all the Chief Justices of High Courts to launch a campaign for releasing on bail those undertrial prisoners who are entitled to be released," the reply from Law Ministry said in the RTI response.
Recently, some senior Congress leaders including general secretary Digvijay Singh have advocated bail for the undertrials against whom probe had been completed.
He had expressed his views on micro-blogging site Twitter as well as in his interviews.
Quoting Justice VR Krishna Aiyar, former Supreme Court judge, the Congress leader had said, "Once a person is chargesheeted and the investigation in the particular case is completed, every accused has a right to get bail as a principle...I think this is something our judiciary should take into consideration."
PTI
