The apex court also appointed Senior Advocate V Giri as an amicus curiae to assist the court's decision on the larger issue of whether Covid-19 can be a ground for granting anticipatory bail.
The Supreme Court Tuesday stayed a Allahabad High Court order that held that apprehension of death due to the Covid-19 pandemic is a valid ground for anticipatory bail, Live Law reported.
A vacation bench of Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai said, “the courts may not consider the observations while considering bails and they shall consider the case on facts and circumstances.”
The apex court also appointed Senior Advocate V Giri as an amicus curiae to assist the court’s decision on the larger issue of whether Covid-19 can be a ground for granting anticipatory bail.
The order comes after hearing the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh, which had moved Supreme Court to challenge the High Court’s “sweeping observations”.
The state had submitted that the applicant seeking anticipatory bail had 130 criminal cases against him. Following which, the bench ordered that the Allahabad High Court judgment could not be used as a precedent for grant of anticipatory bail, urging courts to consider individual facts and circumstances in such cases.
On May 10, the Allahabad HC had observed that apprehension of death on account of the pandemic is a valid ground for grant of anticipatory bail. The court made this observation while hearing the case of one Prateek Jain who was facing probable arrest in connection to a case of cheating and fraud.
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