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Supreme Court quashes irrelevant bail condition

J. Venkatesan

To examine if courts can impose odd conditions

The duo was held for trying to burn Indian and Sri Lankan flags
They must hoist the national flag in front of their houses every day for a week

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has set aside the bail condition imposed by the Madras High Court on two persons that they perform community service in an orphanage for three hours a day for one week. However, it has retained the condition that they hoist the national flag in front of their houses every day for a week.

A Bench of Justices B. Sudershan Reddy and Deepak Verma set aside the order after hearing the arguments of counsel for the petitioner and former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani and counsel for Tamil Nadu S. Thananjayan.

Admitting the appeal, the court said it would examine whether the trial courts and the High Courts could impose odd and irrelevant conditions while granting bail to the accused in a criminal case.

The prosecution case was that on April 25, the two persons assembled in front of the Coimbatore Collectorate. They were arrested when they attempted to burn the Indian and Sri Lankan flags to protest what they called the Sri Lankan Army’s attack on the Tamils.

After the trial court denied them bail, they approached the High Court, which enlarged them on bail on June 9, on the condition that they erect a pole in front of their houses and hoist the national flag, with due respect, every day for a week. The flag should be hoisted at 6 a.m. and lowered at 6 p.m. It should be monitored by the police. Another condition was that they do community service at an orphanage, to be named by the magistrate, for three hours daily for one week. As their plea for modification of the conditions was rejected on July 1, they moved the special leave petition.

While Mr. Jethmalani contended that such irrelevant conditions could not be imposed, counsel for the State said that asking the petitioners to hoist the national flag was not an onerous condition.

In its order, the Bench said: “The controversy centres on the condition that the appellants report before an orphanage that would be named by the magistrate to perform community service three hours a day. It is difficult to appreciate why such a condition has been imposed by the High Court . The said condition is totally unsustainable in law.”

The Bench set aside that condition and said the appellants should be released on bail on the modified condition, and the condition that they hoist the national flag should not be treated as a precedent for any purpose.

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