Supreme Court Expresses Surprise at Lengthy Bail Hearings in Delhi Riots Case

Delhi (India),18th Jan 2023: The Supreme Court has expressed surprise at the length of bail hearings in the Delhi riots case.

During a hearing on applications filed in relation to bail granted to student activists Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, and Asif Iqbal Tanha, the court, which was made up of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S. Oka, and JB Pardiwala, made the observation.

The court was hearing appeals filed by the Delhi Police against the Delhi High Court’s order granting bail to the activists.

The bench stated that they don’t believe in unnecessarily putting people behind bars and that bail matters should not be dealt with in such a manner.

The court also questioned whether high courts should be spending so much time on bail matters and called it a complete waste of judicial time. The court allowed deferment and adjourned the matter for the next hearing as requested by the attorney appearing for the state.