Crooks walk out on bail as cops stand baffled

Hyderabad: Hyderabad police seem to be in a Catch 22 situation as detained offenders are coming out on bail in no time and carrying out nefarious activities at their free will. Known criminals including land grabbers, pseudo cops and attention-diversion gangs obtaining easy bail has become as a huge challenge for the city police who otherwise claim to be the best in the country.

The easy availability of bail, apparently due to the loopholes in the legal system, has not just dented the image of police, but also showed cops’ inability to implement the Prevention of Dangerous Activities (PD) Act strictly. Police which once thought of detaining the offenders under the PD Act could not succeed because the Act has its own clauses that allow the detainees to get bail and needs further amendment.

On the other hand, courts cannot deny bail petition of any person as Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right of personal liberty. With the courts believing in ‘bail is the rule and jail an exception’, it gave enough scope for the criminals to repeat the offences.

Hyderabad Commissioner of Police M Mahendar Reddy said that as the pseudo cops and land-grabbers were easily securing bail, the police were now contemplating of invoking Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act against them. He said the city police would recommend to the Telangana government the enactment of new laws or the modification of existing ones so that such offenders were booked under the same Act.

When contacted, a city-based lawyer Gulam Rabbani said, “The main reason behind the whole issue is that the criminals especially history-sheeters who are involved in land grabbing and other heinous crimes are being shielded by politicians. There should be fast-track courts with special judges and speedy disposal of cases.”

When The Hans India asked DCP (Malkajgiri) Rama Rajeshwari as to how bails were given in a short period to offenders, she said, “In our regular meetings with district judge, we keep insisting upon this issue, but law cannot deny bail to any person. Moreover, the recent Supreme Court judgment saying offence having less than seven years punishment should be given station bail has made things tougher for the police.”

However lawyers maintain that the country’s bail system requires a major overhaul. The Supreme Court, time and again, has stated that bail is the rule and jail, an exception. Seriousness of the charge is, no doubt, one of the relevant considerations while considering bail applications but that is not the only test or the factor.

The other factor that also requires to be taken note of is the punishment that could be imposed after trial and conviction, both under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, according to legal experts.

By:Victor Rao