The Madras High Court directed the Registrar General of the High Court to seek instructions from all the District Judges within the Court’s jurisdiction regarding the number and status of applications for Anticipatory Bail and Regular Bail filed before them since March 21
A division Bench of the Madras High Court comprising of Justice N. Kirubakaran and Justice R. Hemalatha issued direction on a writ petition filed by the President of the Madras High Court Advocates Association, who appeared in person.
According to the petitioner, there are persons who are still in jail and applied for interim bails, who should be granted liberty and be allowed to get out on bail. The persons who are in jail for committing heinous crimes in Tamil Nadu may be exempted from this. The applications filed through email and in accordance with law should therefore be heard.
The petitioner brought to the notice of the Bench that the District Courts have not disposed of even a single petition filed seeking bail and anticipatory bail, and these applications are still pending.
The Bench, after hearing these arguments directed the Registrar General to get a report as to the status and the total number of such petitions. And also to check if the District Courts had all the relevant and necessary instructions as required by them to dispose such applications.
The next hearing has been scheduled for the coming week and the State Prosecutor has been asked to assist the Court
-India Legal Bureau