Long periods of incarceration work against reformative justice: Cal HC in murder case

Time of India

6 hours ago

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Kolkata: Long periods of incarceration work against "reformative justice" and lead to "frustration and depression", the Calcutta High Court observed while granting interim bail to a murder accused.
The accused was granted bail so that he could be with his family while his son underwent surgery.
The accused was arrested on Nov 8, 2023 at the Titagarh police station. There were 27 witnesses in the case. Of these, only seven had been examined so far. Meanwhile, the accused had spent over one-and-a-half years in custody.
A high court vacation bench of Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury granted the accused interim bail for eight weeks because 20 more witnesses were yet to be examined.
The accused had sought bail on compassionate grounds, stating that his son was ill and required hospitalisation for surgery.
The state opposed the plea stating that there was enough material to show the accused's involvement in the offence. The state further submitted that the accused's son was awaiting an elective surgery and was not hospitalised yet and did not require emergency intervention.
The court did not go into the discussion about whether the son needed emergency surgery or not.
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Instead, it deliberated on if the accused could be granted bail.
The judge noted that interim bail could be granted during trial more than once after a certain period if there was inordinate delay in the completion of a trial.
The HC said that in case the accused was convicted, he would need the mental strength necessary to undergo reformation, as the objective of punishment was to reform the guilty.
The court further said if the accused was to be acquitted, he would need to have the motivation to resume regular life.
"Incarceration for a long period makes a person depressed and frustrated, and may not help him undergo the reform process in case of conviction or resume normal life after acquittal," Justice Chowdhury said.
"It was only when a person's detention was relaxed for some period and he was allowed to meet family members or near-relations who could motivate him, or visit any religious institution or undergo counselling, could he gain strength to face trial or undergo reformation process or resume normal life as the case may be," Justice Chowdhury added.
Granting interim bail with conditions would prevent the accused from committing an offence upon release, the judge observed. The accused was granted bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 10,000 with two sureties.
Other conditions for bail included meeting the officer-in-charge of the concerned police station twice a week, not entering the locality where the incident took place without the trial court's permission and not meeting individuals familiar with the facts of the case.