‘Why single benches not hearing bail applications’: SC seeks Cal HC report

Kolkata: The Supreme Court is learnt to have sought a report from the Registrar (Judicial) of the Calcutta High Court (HC) explaining why division benches of the latter are hearing regular and anticipatory bail applications instead of single benches as is the norm in other High Courts in the country.

An Apex Court bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan reportedly questioned why are division benches of the Calcutta HC hearing regular bail applications and anticipatory bail applications instead of single bench when there is a huge filing and pendency of the bail applications. The bench said: “The question is whether two Hon’ble Judges of the High Court should be devoting time for dealing with regular bail applications”.

The Registrar (Judicial) of the HC was directed to place on record a report answering the same. The Apex Court directed the submission of data on bail applications filed in 2024 and their pendency.

The Apex Court gave these directions while issuing notice in a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging Cal HC’s order granting bail in a murder case. The case involved petitioner Safiar Hossain, who had been in custody for over one year and eleven months.

The HC granted bail on the grounds that there was no likelihood of the trial concluding soon. The state had opposed the bail application, citing the recovery of a gun and six rounds of ammunition from the petitioner, as well as forensic evidence linking the ammunition to the bullet found in the deceased’s body.