High Court directs Trial Courts to Give Complete Details of Criminal Antecedents in Bail Orders 

The High Court of Rajasthan on 25/11/2020 in the case of  Jugal v. State of Rajasthan comprising of a Single Judge Bench of Justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati has directed courts in the State to specify whether a given bail applicant has a prior record of crime and details regarding the same in bail orders.

The Court pointed out "It is often seen by this Court that the learned courts below are not specific in regard to antecedents of the accused persons, which causes delay in the disposal of the bail applications, as, if the person is not having antecedents and his antecedents are called, receiving of such antecedents reports takes quite some time."

Though the antecedent alone is not a ground of rejecting or accepting a bail, but it is must that the Hon'ble High Court should have the antecedent report to check the applicability of Section 437 (1) of Cr.P.C. as well as to weigh the case of the accused person with overall perspective of the allegations levelled.

The petitioner was arrested in connection with FIR for the offences punishable under Section 392/34 of IPC. He filed this bail application under Section 439 Cr.P.C.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that there is no criminal antecedent of the present petitioner.

On the other hand the Learned Public Prosecutor was not in a position to refute the aforesaid submission.

"Thus, this Court directs that all learned trial courts shall, while allowing or disallowing any regular/anticipatory bail application of any accused person, give the complete details of the antecedents, if any, and also record that there are no antecedents of the accused person in case of none being there. If there are antecedents of the accused, then the complete details of the antecedents i.e. FIR Number(s) & Case Number(s), Section(s), date(s), status and date of arrest & release on any previous occasion, if any, in the chart form shall be prepared and incorporated in the learned trial courts' order, while granting or dismissing the bail application."

-Justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati

The bench ordered that this order shall be conveyed by the Registry of this Court to all learned District & Sessions Judges of the State, who shall ensure the immediate implementation of this order amongst all the judicial officers and all courts in their respective jurisdiction, which are hearing the bail applications.

The detailed antecedents report in an aforesaid format so provided in the trial courts' order shall be the requirement of disposal of any bail application in the State of Rajasthan. It was also directed that the learned Public Prosecutors all over the State shall call for the antecedents report well in advance in every case of bail, so as to enable the courts to have the definite and correct information regarding previous criminal antecedents of the accused.

Moreover, a certified copy of this order be also sent by the Registry to the Director of the Prosecution Department of the State for necessary compliance, amongst the learned Public Prosecutors all over the State of Rajasthan.

With these directions, the Court directed the Registry to table a compliance report by January 5, 2020. The matter will be taken up next on that date, the order states.