Supreme Court Grants Bail in Prolonged Incarceration Case

The Supreme Court has granted bail to Pradeep Kumar alias Banu, who spent two years in jail without trial in an attempt-to-murder case. The court highlighted that incarceration without trial is equivalent to punishment and deemed further detention unnecessary, imposing conditions for the grant of bail.

The Supreme Court has intervened in a prolonged incarceration case, granting bail to Pradeep Kumar alias Banu. Kumar had languished in jail for two years without his trial commencing, an imprisonment the court equated to punishment.

A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and P V Varale declared the detainment unwarranted, given that not a single witness out of 23 has been examined since his arrest in February 2024 for allegedly attempting murder.

The court stipulated conditions for Kumar's release on bail, underscoring his responsibility to attend further trial proceedings. This decision overturns a previous Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment denying him bail.

(With inputs from agencies.)