Arnab entitled to bail, but what about 3.5 lakh undertials, 83 yr old priest, 80 yr old poet?

Counterview Desk

Senior Mumbai-based human rights lawyer Mihir Desai, in a Facebook post, “tears in the hypocrisy of the judgement and the utter naiveté that informs the discussion about it in certain quarters”, comments Vistasp Hodiwala, adding, “It is the kind of stuff that only a lawyer of serious standing such as Mihir who deals with such cases day in and day out would be able to put up.”
Kavita Srivastava of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) notes, “Brilliantly said by Mihir Desai”, adding, “Yes bail not jail is the rule. Arnab Goswami deserved it. But two weeks ago, Dr Varavara Rao's bail application also came to them. They sent it back to the Bombay High Court. Well interim bail could have been granted right away.”
Srivastava adds, “The Supreme Court has established that we are two classes of people. Those like Arnab who not only get SLPs listed overnight and get bail and those who are lesser human beings. Not only are their applications dismissed but also continue being in jail with no relief. They have destroyed Article 14 and Article 21.”
This is what Mihir Desai wrote:

***

Was Arnab Goswami entitled to be released on bail? Of course. Bail not jail is the rule.
Are the 3,50,000, yes, three lakh fifty thousand undertrials (many of them for years and many for petty offences) who are as on 11th November 2020 in jails across India likely to get bail? More than 1,20,000 of them have been jail as undertrials for more than a year.
At some stage in their long prison life, may be, but within four days of arrest? Not in your wildest dreams.
Well okay, but as and when their cases are taken up, they would definitely get a three day hearing in high court and one full day hearing in Supreme Court? Sure if you are living in Greenland.
In any case our constitutional courts will never refuse to entertain a bail application directly since lower courts are so overloaded. If your case is “important” enough, if you are not from the marginalised section, if you can afford to pay tens of lakhs in fees to lawyers only then can you meet such eligibility criteria.
But Arnab is innocent? But all 3,50,000 undertrials are presumed innocent till they are found guilty.
But, Arnab has been maliciously prosecuted by the villainous police? Police and CBI and NIA are of course normally neutral.
See what a wonderful job they have done in arresting an 84 year old priest, an 80 year old poet, a 66 year old author, some lawyers who dare to fight for human rights, a pregnant student, (and a) journalist who dares to cover Hathras.
But come on... whenever the undertrials do get bail they will at least be immediately released from jail like Arnab?
Please do a reality check.
Arnab has been released on a personal bond but others will have to get one or two solvent sureties.
Is it the judiciary’s fault that they are poor and can’t get sureties and will continue to be in jail even after being granted bail?
But hey, Supreme Court has always said that personal liberty is the most important fundamental right.
Absolutely. That is precisely why they heard habeas corpus petitions within er... 12 hours, ok, no 12 days, my mistake 12 months?
Sorry, sorry, the Supreme Court is too overloaded don’t expect miracles.
Come on people stop grumbling we are in for great times.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Extremely disturbing trend. The SC is one institution, after the armed forces, that I thought could never be influenced, compromised or whatever. But I'm wrong. Where is India headed?

November 13, 2020

ani said…

A basic principle of the law — and of everyday fairness — is that we apply rules with consistency, and not based on what’s convenient or advantageous in the moment

November 14, 2020

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Health Day ads spark row as NAPi targets Britannia campaign, criticizes celebrity endorsement

By A Representative The advocacy group Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) has raised concerns over what it describes as misleading advertising of ultra-processed food products (UPFs), particularly those high in sugar, fat and salt, calling for stricter regulations and an end to such promotions across media platforms.

Search This Blog