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Rajpal vs. State of Rajasthan

Special Leave Petition (Crl.) · 2023 INSC 1089Decided 12 Dec 2023
Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No. 15585 of 2023
C.T. Ravikumar · Sanjay Kumar

Background

The petitioner sought bail claiming parity with a co-accused (from the same FIR) who had already been granted bail by a Bench of the Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur. However, when the petitioner's own bail application came before a different Bench of the same High Court, it was rejected, with that Bench distinguishing the earlier grant on the basis that a Supreme Court ruling had not been considered. During the hearing before the Supreme Court, the petitioner's counsel sought to withdraw the special leave petition rather than press it further.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court permitted the petition to be withdrawn, but used the occasion to flag a recurring administrative problem: bail applications arising out of the same FIR being placed before different judges of a High Court and receiving inconsistent outcomes for similarly-placed co-accused. The Court clarified that parity between co-accused is not an absolute entitlement and depends on the specific facts of each accused's role, but stressed that inconsistent decisions on connected matters undermine confidence in the process. Citing its own earlier three-judge bench direction (in a case from the Allahabad High Court) that all matters arising from one FIR should be listed before the same judge, the Court directed its Registrar to circulate this order, along with the earlier one, to the Registrars of all High Courts across India for placement before their respective Chief Justices.

Lesson Learnt

Claiming "parity" with a co-accused's bail grant is not automatic, it still depends on each person's individual role and facts, and the Supreme Court has directed that, going forward, bail applications arising from the same FIR should ideally be heard by the same judge to avoid inconsistent outcomes for similarly-placed accused persons.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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