Socio-Economic Bias In Bail Jurisprudence: Revisiting The Equality Principle In India
- IJLLR Journal
- 1 hour ago
- 1 min read
Sabhyata Chopra, LLM, Amity Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Amity University, Noida
ABSTRACT
Bail is an important protection of individual freedom in Indian criminal justice system and it has a close connection with constitutional guarantees of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Although the judicial principle of bail being the rule and not the exception has been adopted, the reality of how the principle of bail is applied in practice is often found to portray great socio-economic variations. People who belong to the economically disadvantaged groups often languish in pre-trial custody as they are unable to provide bail bonds or hire a lawyer. This paper critically evaluates the socio-economic biasness imbedded in the decision on bails and proposes reforms to make the principle of equality relevant to bail jurisprudence.
Keywords: Bail Jurisprudence, Socio-Economic Inequality, Equality before Law, Pre-Trial Detention, Criminal Justice System.
