The Supreme Court has held that judges should refrain from imposing their personal views or value judgments on morality while deciding bail applications or conducting criminal trials.
A Bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Atul S Chandurkar made the observation while setting aside a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had denied bail to a man accused of sexually exploiting a minor girl.
The High Court had refused bail, observing that the accused’s release could have ramifications for social order and the “morals” of the victim’s family.
The Supreme Court emphasized that judges must not allow their personal morals or subjective values to influence decisions on bail or criminal trials. The Court said in its September 23 order.
The case arose after the accused, who lived as a tenant in the victim’s neighbourhood, allegedly attempted to abduct her elder sister. A separate criminal case was registered in connection with that incident.
The minor victim subsequently told her mother that the accused had sexually exploited her for around a month, following which the present case was registered.
The accused was booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Before the Supreme Court, the accused claimed that the present case had arisen from his relationship with the victim’s elder sister and was registered to harass him.
The State opposed bail, pointing out that the accused had been convicted in the case concerning the elder sister, though the conviction was under challenge.
The Supreme Court noted that the accused had already spent more than a year in custody and that the trial in the present case would take further time to conclude.
The Supreme Court noted that since the appellant had already been imprisoned for over a year and the trial would take more time to finish, granting bail was appropriate.
The Bench accordingly set aside the High Court’s March 20 order and granted bail to the accused.
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