Chief Justice Flags "Hasty, Indiscriminate" Arrests As Urgent Problem

The issues of "hasty and indiscriminate arrests, difficulty in obtaining bail, and prolonged incarceration of under trials" were marked "urgent" by Chief Justice NV Ramana on Saturday, in comments that assume huge significance given recent events.

In recent weeks, persistent questions have been raised on the arrests of Mohammad Zubair, co-founder of fact-checking website Alt News, by the police in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, and that of actor Ketaki Chitale in Maharashtra.

While Mr Zubair remains under arrest since late last month over a 2018 tweet that was used to file largely the same case against him in various places, Ms Chitale spent 39 days locked up over social media comments supposedly against veteran politician Sharad Pawar before being released last month.

Speaking at an event in Jaipur in the presence of Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and senior judges of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice NV Ramana did not name any specific case but went as far as calling the process in India's criminal justice system a "punishment".

"The challenges are huge. In our criminal justice system, the process is the punishment. From hasty, indiscriminate arrests, to difficulty in obtaining bail, the process leading to the prolonged incarceration of under trials needs urgent attention," he said in his address.

"We need a holistic plan of action, to increase the efficiency of the administration of criminal justice. Training and sensitization of the police and modernization of the prison system is one facet of improving the administration of criminal justice," Justice Ramana said.

"NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) and legal service authorities need to focus on the above issues to determine how best they can help," he added.

The Chief Justice's comments underlined a recent call by the Supreme Court to the centre to consider framing a 'Bail Act' to streamline the early release of prisoners.

Justice Ramana also expressed concern at political opposition translating into hostility and the quality of legislative performance.

"Political opposition should not translate into hostility, which we have been sadly witnessing these days. These are not signs of a healthy democracy. There used to be mutual respect between the government and opposition. Unfortunately, space for opposition is diminishing," he said.

"Sadly, the country is witnessing a decline in the quality of legislative performance," Justice Ramana said, adding laws are being passed without detailed deliberations and scrutiny.