The Apex court junks Bihar appeal against bail to 56 prohibition violators

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with Patna supreme court orders granting bail to 56 persons who were arrested during the period of pandemic in March 2020 and rejected the special leave petitions filed by Bihar government.

A bench headed by judge of India N V Ramana followed the choice it had taken on January 11, when it had refused to entertain Bihar government’s appeals against grant of bail to quite 40 persons who were arrested in 2017-18.

On Tuesday, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar told the CJI-led bench that the supreme court orders showed non-application of mind as they were “word to word identical”.

But the CJI said, “We don't want to treat the law (Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016). But the arrests were made in March 2020. they need been in jail for a few time before they were granted bail. and also the appeals were filed in December last year. Much time has elapsed and that we wouldn't entertain these appeals”. 

However, on insistence of Kumar, the bench said that its order wouldn't be construed as a mirrored image on the merits of the case which the trial would be conducted uninfluenced by the apex court’s refusal to entertain the appeals

Tuesday’s order, along with the one passed on January 11, will relieve over 100 persons who were arrested under the prohibition law. 

On January 11, the CJI-led bench had said that the judicature had granted bail to over 40 persons two or three years ago and there had been no complaint of them violating bail conditions.